REAGAN WIT AND WISDOM
Now that we’re in the thick of the political campaign season, it might be a timely moment to recall some of the insights of our 40th president, Ronald Reagan:
“The most terrifying words in the English language are: I’m from the government and I’m here to help.”
“I have wondered at times about what the Ten Commandments would have looked like if Moses had run them through the U.S. Congress.”
“The taxpayer: That’s someone who works for the federal government but doesn’t have to take the civil service examination.”
“Government is like a baby: An alimentary canal with a big appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other.”
“The nearest thing to eternal life we will ever see on this earth is a government program.”
“I’ve laid down the law, though, to everyone from now on about anything that happens: no matter what time it is, wake me, even if it’s in the middle of a Cabinet meeting.”
“It has been said that politics is the second oldest profession. I have learned that it bears a striking resemblance to the first.”
“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.”
“No arsenal, or no weapon in the arsenals of the world, is as formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women.”
“If we ever forget that we’re one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under.”
