Bella Abzug Quotes

The Administration of the United States is such dread I almost feel paralyzed.

Government is the exercise of all the great qualities of the human mind.

In the White House, you can be on the pitcher's mound or you can be in the catcher's position. Put points on the board. Show people you can govern. Deliver on what you said you were going to deliver on.

Luckily, I'm a governor - so I get to tell you what I've already done not just what I'm going to do.

I can't get inside the head of a politician today.

There's nothing to be said for opposition. You can only talk about things and you can lay your plans. You can't actually achieve very much; you have to be in government for that.

Making music is like being the president: You can't tell people you're going to make health care free to get them behind you, but when you get that role, you don't do it.

Legislatures react. Executives initiate.

Government is not the enemy. Government is simply a tool that can be used wisely or unwisely.

The Executive Branch, when they put the point on the spear, can get things done.

Governing is about selecting.

There is no way for two leaders to function together at any one time

What is government but an arrangement by which the many accept the authority of the few?

I did not love politics. As a matter of fact, I hated politics. I loved governing which is … a different thing.

In government, you're not a writer, you're an administrator.

In my position as prime minister, I bear the highest responsibility for decisions.

I didn't have any idea what politics was like. I was surprised at how difficult it is to get something done. In the private world, if I have an idea, I just do it.

Running a government as chief minister and managing affairs of the nation are different things.

Taking power is fine. But what do you do when you are in power?

I said I wanted to lay the foundation for my governance and that included building relations with the City Council, with bureau directors, making sure we had the right leaders in place, making sure we're communicating with community groups that have an interest in of policymaking. I feel that we did that.

The bureaucracy always goes with the way politicians go.

By gaining the people, the kingdom is gained; by losing the people, the kingdom is lost.

We do not run government on whims of an individual, our progress is reforms driven, our reforms are policy driven and our policies are people driven.

"Government," says Swift, "is a plain thing, and fitted to the capacity of many heads."

We have moved from an age in which government leaders sought to do what was best for the people to one in which the political leadership is convinced it knows what is best for the people, whether they like it or not.