Great Throughts Treasury

"American environmental ills at home (smog, deforestation, the loss of wetlands), as well as the degradation of vast areas of the developing world remind us that protecting the environment is the ultimate enlightened self-interest."

"What is life worth if we don’t strive to build something that is bigger than we are and lasts longer than we do? For too long, we’ve not worried about future generations or met our obligations to each other. Instead, we have lived for ourselves, and for today. Such a world is simply not sustainable."

"A campaign proposal without a price tag is just another politician?s promise."

"A good coach must celebrate in private. He cannot gloat to the press after a victory or criticize heavily after defeat... His game is of such motivation and strategy that only a few people understand his craft."

"A new story for a new century."

"Al Gore clearly has the vision... it's a much better vision than that of George W. Bush."

"Absolutely not. For 18 years in the United States Senate I fought to protect Medicare, I protected premiums from going up for senior citizens... I will always do that."

"Al Gore has run a strong campaign and I congratulate him ... But we are smarter and better-prepared."

"Ambition is the path to success. Persistence is the vehicle you arrive in."

"As for me, I belong to the party of hope... In the battles that are to come, I ask you to join me to prove that the oldest political party on earth is the newest in energy and imagination."

"Anytime the president lies, he undermines his authority and squanders the public's trust,"

"All I have are the people. He has entrenched power, he has a president who is supporting him, loyal to him -- as he was loyal to the president -- he's got most of the DNC (Democratic National Committee), he's got most of the big Democratic fund-raisers, he rides on Air Force Two. That is entrenched power,"

"And if only John McCain hadn't taken all the play away from us with a New Hampshire landslide."

"Al Gore's run a strong race and I congratulate him, but we're smarter and we're better prepared and we're dedicated to continuing the fight... But it's a fight about more than Al Gore or me. It's a fight about the kind of America we know we can become."

"And so now we leave New Hampshire and move South and West. We leave with thanks to all of you and fond memories that will always be able to claim when we make our progress forward that the new politics began here."

"Basketball can serve as a kind of metaphor for ultimate cooperation. It is a sport where success, as symbolized by the championship, requires that the dictates of community prevail over selfish impulses."

"At a time of peace ... I see nearly 14 million of our children who are being denied their chance to live the American dream. This is not acceptable,"

"Becoming number one is easier than remaining number one."

"Before the money machine starts humming, let's pause and think about a better way,"

"Behind all the years of practice and all the hours of glory waits that inexorable terror of living without the game."

"Bob Kerrey is an American hero. He is a man with unquestioned conviction and stands out in the Senate as a courageous leader on issues that define our future."

"Both Ernestine and I are here to call it an end."

"But my convictions of where we are as a country and where we can go are so deep that I made the decision to take on the establishment and run."

"By the time we get to February 1, people will know who I am, what I believe, what I'm for, and what I would like to do if I were president."

"Certainly it's not something that I actually think about every day,"

"But the problems that called forth that effort have not failed and it is time to try again but in a different way."

"Democratic voters spoke and selected Vice President Gore as our nominee. I'm here in Green Bay today because I believe what Vince Lombardi once said is true: Winning is a team sport,"

"Can we in a time of unprecedented prosperity afford to dream big dreams again? ... Can we afford to create a new politics in America? That's the question that the people have to decide in this election."

"Despite the lack of victory tonight ... We shaped the national debate and brought Democratic issues to the fore,"

"Eight million people will vote next Tuesday... You have to understand why I am in this, I am in this to change the political process."

"Democrats distrust the market, preach government is the answer to our problems and prefer the bureaucrat they know to the consumer they can't control."

"Either you lead from hope or you lead from fear. It's obvious from Al Gore's attacks on Bill Bradley that he lacks confidence in his own agenda for the country."

"Elbows and blows are exchanged in basketball... but that is part of the game. Politics is different. Politics is something that should be higher."

"Eliminate child poverty as we know it."

"Eliminating child poverty is a big goal... The first step is the commitment I am making here today."

"Gays and lesbians are no different than the rest of us. We have to respect them and accord them the dignity that every person in this room deserves."

"Every time I have some moment on a seashore, or in the mountains, or sometimes in a quiet forest, I think this is why the environment has to be preserved."

"How should we Democrats select the next presidential nominee? Smoke filled rooms? Brokered convention? National primary? Personally, I prefer jump shots from the top of the key."

"He has misrepresented my healthcare plan time after time after time, and I called him on it."

"For a long time, I operated under the Chinese proverb that there are four kinds of leaders: those who you laugh at, those who you hate, those who you love and those who you don't even know that they're leaders."

"However, I have serious questions about our policy. We are escalating our commitment without establishing a clear exit strategy. As with Bosnia, we run the risk of becoming bogged down in a quagmire whose end we cannot predict or control,"

"He declares his support for Bradley based on his commitment to health care for children, curbing gun violence and other issues,"

"I ask myself what he would want a presidential candidate or a president to do at this time in our country's history."

"I am going to replace Medicaid with something better... Some 40 percent of minorities do not have coverage (under Medicaid). They would be covered."

"I believe a Democratic president can do more for this country than a Republican president can."

"I believe that we need a strong president that is not going to back away from affirmative action."

"I clearly have to win a number of states on March 7 and 14, no question about that."

"I condemn it. I think it's morally repugnant. I think we have to be very clear about this."

"I could never appoint someone to the Supreme Court who I thought would turn back the clock on civil rights... overblown."

"I believe we need a new kind of leadership, a leadership that puts the people front and center, not the president."