John McCain

America’s greatest strength has always been its hopeful vision of human progress.

I don’t mind a good fight. For reasons known only to God, I’ve had quite a few tough ones in my life. But I learned an important lesson along the way: In the end, it matters less that you can fight. What you fight for is the real test.

Most great leaders in history that I’ve studied always need to get as wide a range of opinions as possible so that they can have sufficient information to make the right decisions.

But we’re at a place in our political history when passing legislation through the House with bipartisan support is considered by some folks a greater evil than the problem it’s intended to solve.

The first role of government is to help people who are in crisis or need. That’s why we have government.

Glory belongs to the act of being constant to something greater than yourself, to a cause, to your principles, to the people on whom you rely and who rely on you

In all debates let truth be thy aim; not victory or an unjust interest; and endeavor to gain rather than to expose thy antagonist.

A great man stands on God. A small man on a great man.

Character is just another word for having a perfectly disciplined and educated will.

A mother’s yearning feels the presence of the cherished child even in the degraded man.

Great feelings will often take the aspect of error, and great faith the aspect of illusion.

For so many people, TV and movies may be the only way they understand people who aren’t like them. It becomes important for the world to see different images of each other, so that we can develop empathy and understanding.

I really do not see much use in exalting the humble and meek; they do not remain humble and meek long when they are exalted.

I have not become the Kings First Minister in order to preside over the liquidation of the British Empire.

It is generally known, that he who expects much will be often disappointed; yet disappointment seldom cures us of expectation, or has any effect other than that of producing a moral sentence or peevish exclamation.

The ancients recommended us to sacrifice to the Graces, but Milton sacrificed to the Devil.

Believe nothing against another but on good authority; and never report what may hurt another, unless it be a greater hurt to some other to conceal it.

A drunkard would not give money to sober people. He said they would only eat it, and buy clothes and send their children to school with it.

Suffering is but another name for the teaching of experience, which is the parent of instruction and the schoolmaster of life.

He that complies against his will is of his own opinion still.

Rummaging in our souls, we often dig up something that ought to have lain there unnoticed.