Great Throughts Treasury

"Love means giving one’s self to another person fully, not just physically. When two people really love each other, this helps them to stay alive and grow. One must be loved to grow. Love’s such a precious and fragile thing that when it comes we have to hold on tightly. And when it comes, we’re very lucky because for some it never comes at all. If you have love, you’re wealthy in a way that can never be measured."

"A woman is like a tea bag, you can not tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water."

"A lot of business can be accomplished in the state dinners."

"A lot of what acting is paying attention."

"As I've said before, time is short, and life is precious."

"For eight years, I was sleeping with the president, and if that doesn't give you special access, I don't know what does!"

"From the moment I walked into the White House, it was as if I had no privacy at all."

"I am a big believer that eventually everything comes back to you. You get back what you give out."

"I am a big believer that you have to nourish any relationship. I am still very much a part of my friends' lives and they are very much a part of my life. A First Lady who does not have this source of strength and comfort can lose perspective and become isolated."

"I believe that people would be alive today if there were a death penalty."

"I chose to have a career, and I enjoyed it while I had it."

"Everything just fell into place with Ronnie and me. We completed each other."

"Embryonic stem cell research has the potential to alleviate so much suffering. Surely, by working together we can harness its life-giving potential."

"Feminism is the ability to choose what you want to do."

"I couldn't possibly lead the kind of life I lead, and keep the schedule that I do, having radiation or chemotherapy."

"I do not believe in abortion at will. I do not believe that if a woman just wants to have an abortion she should... I do believe if you have an abortion you are committing murder."

"I don't intend for this to take on a political tone. I'm just here for the drugs."

"I don't know when I'm going to have time to be politically active."

"I don't like a lot of frills and fusses."

"I don't really yell at people."

"I don't talk about political matters. That's not my department."

"I don't think most people associate me with leeches or how to get them off. But I know how to get them off. I'm an expert at it."

"I have been criticized and ridiculed for turning to astrology, but after a while, I reached the point where I didn't care."

"I have been very happy with my homes, but homes really are no more than the people who live in them."

"I must say acting was good training for the political life which lay ahead for us."

"I rarely think about myself that much. I really don't."

"I said from the very beginning, I don't want a big house, I don't want big grounds, I don't want the trouble with the maintenance and all of that."

"I see the first lady as another means to keep a president from becoming isolated."

"I think a woman gets more if she acts feminine."

"I thought Obama ran the best campaign I have ever known - disciplined, well organized, very, very good. I was very impressed."

"I urge researchers to make use of the opportunities that are available to them and to do all they can to fulfill the promise that stem cell research offers."

"I was doing everything I could think of to protect my husband and keep him alive."

"I was the one who was always calling people."

"I'm against abortion. On the other hand, I believe in a woman's choice."

"I'm doing what I want to do."

"I'm fine, except, you know, I broke my pelvis. And that's not much fun."

"I'm particularly happy that the Ronald Reagan Building is both public and private, and embraces his lifelong belief... in free and open trade."

"I'm very grateful that President Obama has lifted the restrictions on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research."

"It is true that when you're in the White House alone, it is a lonely place. Big and lonely."

"It is well known that my husband and Lady Thatcher enjoyed a very special relationship as leaders of their respective countries during one of the most difficult and pivotal periods in modern history. Ronnie and Margaret were political soul mates, committed to freedom and resolved to end Communism."

"It's always written that my father was a rich, conservative John Bircher. That is untrue. He was not rich. He was not a John Bircher."

"I've always gone for the more understated look."

"I've had quite a life, when you stop and think about it."

"Just say no to drugs!"

"My job is being 'Mrs. Ronald Reagan.'"

"My life really began when I married my husband."

"Now science has presented us with a hope called stem cell research, which may provide our scientists with many answers that have for so long been beyond our grasp."

"Our relationship is very special. We were very much in love and still are. Thank God we found each other. When I say my life began with Ronnie, well, it's true. It did. Forty-six years? Can't imagine life without him."

"People don't understand that all presidents, the minute they become president, get a knock at the door. And there's a man there saying, 'Let's talk about your funeral.' At the time I thought, God, that's a terrible thing. Later on, I thought it was pretty wise."

"Remember, I'm a doctor's daughter. So obviously I'm interested in all medical things."