In America, anybody can be president. That's one of the risks you take.
¶ (1952)
Quotations by ...
Adlai Ewing Stevenson (1900-1965) American politician
It reminds me of the small boy who jumbled his Biblical quotations and said: "A lie is an abomination unto the Lord, and a very present help in trouble.''
¶ (Attributed)
(mingling Proverbs 12:22 and Psalms 46:1)
Those who corrupt the public mind are just as evil as those who steal from the public purse.
¶ (Attributed)
A free society is a place where it's safe to be unpopular.
¶ (Attributed)
Accuracy is to a newspaper what virtue is to a lady, but a newspaper can always print a retraction.
¶ (Attributed)
There is nothing more horrifying than stupidity in action.
¶ (Attributed)
We have confused the free with the free and easy.
¶ (Attributed)
Every day, for example, politicians, of which there are plenty, swear eternal devotion to the ends of peace and security. They always remind me of the elder Holmes’ apostrophe to a katydid: “Thou say’st an undisputed thing in such a solemn way.” And every day statesmen, of which there are few, must struggle with limited means to achieve these unlimited ends, both in fact and in understanding. For the nation’s purposes always exceed its means, and it is finding a balance between means and ends that is the heart of foreign policy and that makes it such a speculative, uncertain business.
¶ Call to Greatness (1954)
“Via ovicipitum dura est,” or, for the benefit of the engineers among you: “The way of the egghead is hard.”
¶ Lecture at Harvard University (17 Mar. 1954)
Quoted in Stevenson, Call to Greatness (1954)
The first principle of a free society is an untrammeled flow of words in an open forum.
¶ Quoted in NY Times (19 Jan 1962)
Let’s face it. Let’s talk sense to the American people. Let’s tell them the truth, that there are no gains without pains, that we are now on the eve of great decisions, not easy decisions, like resistance when you’re attacked, but a long, patient, costly struggle which alone can assure triumph over the great enemies of man -- war, poverty and tyranny -- and the assaults upon human dignity which are the most grievous consequences of each.
¶ Speech accepting Democratic Presidential nomination, Chicago (26 Jul 1952)
The rock-bottom foundation of a free press is the integrity of the people who run it.
¶ Speech to Journalists, Portland (8 Sep. 1952)
If I were to attempt to put my political philosophy tonight into a single phrase, it would be this: Trust the people. Trust their good sense, their decency, their fortitude, their faith. Trust them with the facts. Trust them with the great decisions. And fix as our guiding star the passion to create a society where people can fulfill their own best selves — where no American is held down by race or color, by worldly condition or social status, from gaining what his character earns him as an American citizen, as a human being and as a child of God.
¶ Speech, Harrisburg, Penn. (13 Sep 1956)
Public confidence in the integrity of the Government is indispensable to faith in democracy; and when we lose faith in the system, we have lost faith in everything we fight and spend for.
¶ Speech, Los Angeles Town Club (11 Sep 1952)
To act coolly, intelligently and prudently in perilous circumstances is the test of a man — and also a nation.
¶ Wire services (11 Apr 1955)
About WIST
WIST is my collection of quotations I find meaningful, moving, amusing (intended or not), well-phrased, and/or to which I just say I "Wish I'd Said That." But just because I quote it here doesn't mean I actually agree with it. If you have any comments, corrections, or suggestions, please don't hesitate to
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