"It is easy to take liberty for granted when you have never had it taken from you."

"People tell me that Senator Edwards got picked for his good looks, his sex appeal, and his great hair. I say to them, 'How do you think I got the job?"

"Senator Kerry says he sees two Americas. It makes the whole thing mutual - America sees two John Kerrys."

"I wake up every morning literally with a smile on my face, grateful for another day I never thought I'd see."

"Except for the occasional heart attack, I never felt better."

"From kindergarten to graduation, I went to public schools, and I know that they are a key to being sure that every child has a chance to succeed and to rise in the world."

"We are, as a matter of empirical fact and undeniable history, the greatest force for good the world has ever known."

"I've been criticized because I've had the temerity to speak out and done a couple of interviews since I left office. I don't find anything surprising about that."

"No matter what kind of problem I've run into, there's always been a solution for it. Now, obviously, there will be a point where there aren't any more solutions, and I'll have used up my time. We all do."

"As I think about the future, I'm back where most people live their lives. Which is, death is not imminent, and that's different."

"I - obviously, I'm not a big fan of President Obama. I think he's been one of our weakest presidents. I just fundamentally disagree with him philosophically."

"And the fact of the matter is there were thousands of people that went through those training camps in Afghanistan. We know they are seeking deadlier weapons - chemical, biological and nuclear weapons if they can get it."

"I believe very deeply in the proposition that what we did in Iraq was the right thing to do. It was hard to do. It took a long time. There were significant costs involved."

"I think Barack Obama is a one-term President."

"The Columbia is lost, but the dreams that inspired its crew remain with us."

"The Senator from Massachusetts has given us ample grounds to doubt the judgment and the attitude he brings to bear on vital issues of national security."

"The Iraqi forces are conducting the Mother of all Retreats."

"I had a reputation of being somewhat moderate, partly, I think, because I wasn't a 'bomb thrower' like some of my conservative colleagues, and partly because I got along with people all across the political spectrum."

"I think there's no question but what the tail end of the Bush administration, Bush-Cheney administration, that we took steps specifically geared to try and free up the financial sector."

"I can think of a lot of words to describe Senator Kerry's position on Iraq; 'consistent' is not one of them."

"A little tough talk in the midst of a campaign or as part of a presidential debate cannot obscure a record of 30 years of being on the wrong side of defense issues."

"I did my 40 years in Washington, 40-plus, and it's time to pause and reflect and think about what I've seen and done."

"You got to have people at the top who respond to and are selected by presidents."

"I think the record speaks for itself. These are two individuals who have been for the war when the headlines were good and against it when their poll ratings were bad."

"Had the decision belonged to Senator Kerry, Saddam hussein would still be in power today in Iraq. In fact, Saddam Hussein would almost certainly still be in control of Kuwait."

"My own belief is that the way we grow the economy, create jobs, create wealth is in the private sector. The government doesn't do that."

"In his years in Washington, Senator Kerry has been one vote of a hundred in the United States Senate - and fortunately on matters of national security he was very often in the minority."

"We will, in fact, be greeted as liberators."

"The plan was criticized by some retired military officers embedded in TV studios. But with every advance by our coalition forces, the wisdom of that plan becomes more apparent."

"I'm absolutely convinced that the threat we face now, the idea of a terrorist in the middle of one of our cities with a nuclear weapon, is very real and that we have to use extraordinary measures to deal with it."

"We have to make America the best place in the world to do business."

"I don't pay a lot of attention, frankly, to what Barack Obama says."

"The Federal Reserve, the Treasury, all the regulator agencies - if there's a problem of the financial mechanism in society, the only one to fix it is government. They've got a legitimate role."

"We must be prepared to face our responsibilities and be willing to use force if necessary."

"The United States needs to be not so much loved as it needs to be respected. Sometimes, that requires us to take actions that generate controversy. I'm not at all sure that that's what the Obama administration believes."

"It is easy to take liberty for granted, when you have never had it taken from you."

"One of the worst things we could do is start to act now as though the attack of 9/11 is a thing of the past and will never be repeated. That's just not true."

"I'm not apologetic with respect to the policies of the Bush administration. I think we basically got it right."

"Westerners know the difference between a talker and the real deal. If Rick Perry wasn't right to be governor of Texas, why should he be president?"

"I've worked for four presidents and watched two others up close, and I know that there's no such thing as a routine day in the Oval Office."

"I think I was able to survive five heart attacks because I never postponed going to the hospital when something didn't feel right."

"Reagan proved deficits don't matter."

"You cannot be driven by the polls. The polls change all the time; they're easily manipulated by whoever wants to ask those poll questions; they go up; they go down."

"If you're going to go increase taxes on small businesses, you're going to slow down the extent to which we're able to reduce unemployment. So I think it's a serious mistake; the wrong time to raise taxes."

"I am a deficit hawk."

"We urge all democratic nations and the United Nations to answer the Iraqi Governing Council's call for support for the people of Iraq in making the transition to democracy."

"Conservation may be a sign of personal virtue, but it is not a sufficient basis for a sound, comprehensive energy policy."

"I do find that the mainstream media oftentimes is what I would consider off base or has a bias."

"There comes a time when deceit and defiance must be seen for what they are. At that point, a gathering danger must be directly confronted. At that point, we must show that beyond our resolutions is actual resolve."

"I've been extraordinarily fortunate that I've been able to go live a very active, stressful life. And I don't believe that my heart disease changed me for the worst."