STORM2K

These are just a few, from a man who could say so much with so few words

· "There is no limit to what a man can do or where he can go if he doesn't mind who gets the credit."

· "I know it's hard when you're up to your armpits in alligators to remember you came here to drain the swamp."

· "We in government should learn to look at our country with the eyes of the entrepreneur, seeing possibilities where others see only problems."

· "General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr.. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"

· "I have wondered at times what the Ten Commandments would have looked like if Moses had run them through the U.S. Congress."

· "Politics is supposed to be the second-oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the first."

· "Freedom is a fragile thing and is never more than one generation away from extinction. It is not ours by inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation, for it comes only once to a people. Those who have known freedom, and then lost it, have never known it again."

· "I have left orders to be awakened at any time in case of national emergency - even if I'm in a Cabinet meeting."

· "There is absolutely no circumstance whatever under which I would accept that spot. Even if they tied and gagged me, I would find a way to signal by wiggling my ears." (on possibly being offered the vice presidency in 1968)

· "I hope you're all Republicans." (speaking to surgeons as he entered the operating room following his assassination attempt)

· "I want you to know that I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent's youth and inexperience." (during a 1984 presidential debate with Walter Mondale)

· "Recession is when your neighbor loses his job. Depression is when you lose yours. And recovery is when Jimmy Carter loses his."

· "I'm afraid I can't use a mule. I have several hundred up on Capitol Hill." (refusing a gift of a mule)

· "What makes him think a middle-aged actor, who's played with a chimp, could have a future in politics?" (on Clint Eastwood's bid to become mayor of Carmel, CA)

· "How can a president not be an actor?" (when asked "How could an actor become president?)

· "Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it.. And if it stops moving, subsidize it."

· "Politics is not a bad profession. If you succeed there are many rewards, if you disgrace yourself you can always write a book."

· "Before I refuse to take your questions, I have an opening statement."

· "But there are advantages to being elected President. The day after I was elected, I had my high school grades classified Top Secret."

· "Government is like a baby -- an alimentary canal with a big appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other."

· "If the federal government had been around when the Creator was putting His hand to this state, Indiana wouldn't be here. It'd still be waiting for an environmental impact statement."

· "No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth!"

· "The taxpayer - that's someone who works for the federal government but doesn't have to take the civil service examination.."

· "To sit back hoping that someday, some way, someone will make things right is to go on feeding the crocodile, hoping he will eat you last - but eat you he will."

· "Today, if you invent a better mousetrap, the government comes along with a better mouse."