Fred Thompson Quotes & Sayings

I think that there is a relatively small number of people who are pushing for independence in Taiwan. — Fred Thompson

China is one of the world's greatest proliferators of weapons of mass destruction to these rogue nations. — Fred Thompson

For a long time in American history, people didn't even come up before the Senate. They didn't come before the Judiciary Committee, and up until about 1923, something like that. — Fred Thompson

You can't buy peace by just wishing it and avoiding the challenges that other nations present to you. — Fred Thompson

Sometimes you have to, as I say, build bridges where you can - but draw lines where you must. — Fred Thompson

I know the pundits, they get big bucks for ... pundating. — Fred Thompson

John McCain was a prisoner of war. — Fred Thompson

But obviously, we can't afford to make some bad long-term decisions with regard to basic commitments our country has - trade those away for some short-term assistance that may or may not be there a month from now. — Fred Thompson

Roe v. Wade was bad law and bad medical science, — Fred Thompson

There's a lot more to competence than a law degree and a modicum of courtroom skill. — Fred Thompson

So if you look back over the long history of China, they've never tried to take over the world, but they've been quite aggressive in their own neighborhood ... in carrying out their own purposes and interests in their sphere of the world. — Fred Thompson

A new survey shows that the American public is more conservative now than at any point since 1952. The bad news is that all the liberals that died since then are still voting. — Fred Thompson

A lot of people out there working hard and finally building up to getting a pretty good income. Higher tax rates on them, you know, the income rates going up, the dividend rates are going up, the capital gains rates all going up before health care kicks in. — Fred Thompson

I'm not particularly interested in running for president, — Fred Thompson

Today I have withdrawn my candidacy for President of the United States. I hope that my country and my party have benefited from our having made this effort. Jeri and I will always be grateful for the encouragement and friendship of so many wonderful people. — Fred Thompson

The average 20-year-old serving us in Iraq knows more about their country's national security than the average 20-year political veteran serving in the Congress today. — Fred Thompson

Cyberspace is the battlefield of tomorrow ... Instead of confronting us head-to-head on the traditional battlefield, adversaries will confront the U.S. at its point of least resistance- our information infrastructure. — Fred Thompson

If we have more people on the receiving end of government - more people as the middle class becomes sucked in more and more to these entitlement programs, for example - then we're going to be in a place where it's going to be hard to go back. It's going to be hard to go back again. It's going to be hard to take away stuff. It's not impossible. — Fred Thompson

A [person] who Never quits is never defeated. — Fred Thompson

Clearly, the Chinese know that we want a good relationship with them. — Fred Thompson

Russians don't take a dump, son, without a plan. — Fred Thompson

The problem is that agencies sometimes lose sight of common sense as they create regulations. — Fred Thompson

Every foreign policy of every major nation involves reason, common sense, carrots and sticks. You can't have all carrots and no sticks. — Fred Thompson

We also have to ask if we focusing on the most important priorities. — Fred Thompson

Superfund was passed with the good intention of cleaning up America's toxic waste sites. — Fred Thompson

We just ask the agency to make reasonable and honest decisions, and the public deserves no less. — Fred Thompson

Some people think that our planet is suffering from a fever. Now scientists are telling us that Mars is experiencing its own planetary warming: Martian warming. This has led some people, not necessarily scientists, to wonder if Mars and Jupiter, non signatories to the Kyoto Treaty, are actually inhabited by alien SUV-driving industrialists. — Fred Thompson

Jay Carney told the reporters at his morning briefing that he hoped they would watch the new movie about Obama's first term 'many times.' They might. Look how well 'Titanic' did at the box office. — Fred Thompson

Nobody wants to open a business near a Superfund site and risk being sued. — Fred Thompson

Supports pre-emption policy to prevent nuclear proliferation. — Fred Thompson

For example, lead paint in old houses can be a greater threat to children's health than lead that may be under some industrial site where there are no children. — Fred Thompson

We are always just one successful terrorist attack away from a nuclear disaster — Fred Thompson

After two years in Washington, I often long for the realism and sincerity of Hollywood — Fred Thompson

Study: 60% of young Americans plan to buy firearms. The other 40% were confused, saying they thought they were free under Obamacare. — Fred Thompson

We, as a nation, cannot wait for the Pearl Harbor of the information age. We must increase our vigilance to tackle this problem before we are hit with a surprise attack. — Fred Thompson

This business will get out of control. It will get out of control and we'll be lucky to live through it. — Fred Thompson

In the end, we may be hurting the very people we should be concerned about - the inner-city poor, those who already have to live with many risks in their daily lives, those who do not have clout here in Washington. — Fred Thompson

A new report shows that, in Virginia, gun violence has fallen as the sale of firearms has soared to a new record. In other news, a recent study shows that most criminals don't like getting shot at. — Fred Thompson

We have some real political differences among us, but we all share the same goals: clean air and water, injury free workplaces, safe transportation systems, to name a few of the good things that can come from regulation. — Fred Thompson

Global warming experts are saying that sea levels could rise 20 feet. Apparently their strategy for surviving this is to stand on top of a pile of government research grant money. — Fred Thompson

America needs a president who understands the nature of the world we live in. — Fred Thompson

We've made some mistakes in this country in times past - the Korean conflict proceeding that, some say proceeding the Persian Gulf War, where we were ambiguous as to what we would do. — Fred Thompson

I think that the justices were totally answering the way that they should. I think that the senators, as best I could tell, for the most part, Democrat and Republican, respected that. — Fred Thompson

And it's difficult for the average American to understand why something like that could be so important and why a little small place like Taiwan would be so important to the PRC. — Fred Thompson

I'm not above acting like a seal every once in a while and waiting for the next fish, I just don't want to do it all the time. — Fred Thompson

During a campaign speech in Ohio, President Obama said, 'I wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth'. So to be fair, he wants to take your silverware and spread it around. — Fred Thompson

Play hardball with Musharraf, but don't cut off US aid. — Fred Thompson

If we do not design policies to halt, and then reverse population growth, Nature by default will soon exact a most punishing solution — Fred Thompson

I'm offering myself up. I'm saying that if I have the background, the capability and the concern to do this and I'm doing this for the right reasons ... but I'm not particularly interested in running for president, but I think I'd make a good president. Nowadays, the process has become much more important than I think it used to be. — Fred Thompson

Twelve million illegal immigrants later, we are now living in a nation that is beset by people who are suicidal maniacs and want to kill countless innocent men, women and children around the world, — Fred Thompson

I don't attend [church] regularly ... — Fred Thompson

The Air Force is pulling nine cargo aircraft from military operations to support President Obama's stepped-up visits to campaign events. Good, now he can carry his entire ego with him on the trail. — Fred Thompson

Now, being a POW certainly doesn't qualify anyone to be President. But it does reveal character. This is the kind of character that civilizations from the beginning of history have sought in their leaders. — Fred Thompson

We're hoping for the best, but we need to prepare for the worst. — Fred Thompson

That is, while we believe that cost-benefit analysis is an important tool to inform agency decision making, the results of the cost-benefit analysis do not trump existing law. — Fred Thompson

Being a POW certainly doesn't qualify anyone to be president. — Fred Thompson

A new report shows that medicare and Medicaid made more than $50 Billion in bad payments during fiscal year 2011. Under Obamacare, that'll become known as 'Tuesday.' — Fred Thompson

I'd just say the flies get bigger in the summertime. I guess the flies are buzzing. — Fred Thompson

And I believe in the 13 years Judge Roberts was there, he never turned down a request to give some assistance on a pro-bono case, and this was no different. — Fred Thompson

Hopefully, we can build bridges, but we also have to draw lines. — Fred Thompson

You can't substitute promise after promise with known violators of prior promises at the expense of protecting ourselves or setting an example. — Fred Thompson

While we believe there are fruitful opportunities to update and improve old rules, we do not want to set up a review process that could create a litigation morass. — Fred Thompson

And when we draw lines in the sand with regard to certain basic things that are vital to our interest and to the interest of democracy and our friends around the world, we have to be willing to back that up. — Fred Thompson

I think that we ought to be a tolerant nation. I think we ought to be tolerant people. But we shouldn't set up special categories for anybody. And I'm for the rights of everybody, including gays, but not any special rights. — Fred Thompson

But if the Chinese mainland, the PRC, attacked Taiwan, we'd be obligated to come to their aid. — Fred Thompson

Is it really in our countrys best interest to signal to the enemy that they probably only have to wait us out a little longer because congressional determination to defeat them is crumbling? Doesnt such a resolution further diminish our chances for success at the very time our soldiers are preparing to go into battle? And finally, regardless of our politics is this the time to announce to the world that our president is 'on his own'? — Fred Thompson

There's nothing hard about acting except the long hours. — Fred Thompson

The University of North Carolina-Greensboro has ordered a Christian club to allow non-Christians as leaders. While we're at it, let's put high school dropouts in charge of the University. — Fred Thompson

Life begins at conception, but allow early abortions. — Fred Thompson

So China will be having to make some choices as to whose side it wants to be on. Hopefully, this will be the beginning of a major improvement in our relationship with them, if they choose correctly. — Fred Thompson

Waterboarding ok if national security were at stake. — Fred Thompson

This country has shed more blood for the freedom of other people than all the other nations in the history of the world combined, and I'm tired of people feeling like they've got to apologize for America. — Fred Thompson

Fewer and fewer people are paying larger and larger percentage of the tax burden, as you know, almost half the people pay no income taxes at all. We're going to have more people in the wagon than we got pulling the wagon before long and that's not going to work. Those jobless numbers, you know, go hand-in-hand with those tax numbers. — Fred Thompson

Because John McCain stood up our country is better off. The respect he is given around the world is not because of a teleprompter speech designed to appeal to American critics abroad, but because of decades of clearly demonstrated character and statesmanship. — Fred Thompson

Let's not overlook, though, what we do know about the campaign finance scandal, and the fact the Chinese were involved in our presidential campaign and our congressional campaigns. — Fred Thompson