Political Limitations Quotes

I'm a big believer that as much as possible, and there's obviously political limitations, freedom of migration is a good thing.

Governments tend not to solve problems, only to rearrange them.

I think governments can't do much.

What can one man do even if he is the president?

You really can't go back to the Senate after running for President .... The danger of running for the Presidency is that if you don't make it—and that's the case for almost everyone who tries—then you are considered a failure.

Politicians are like horses, they cannot go properly without blinkers.

I'm a legislator, but it's hard to legislate when my party's out of power.

I think where I get frustrated at times was the belief that the president can do anything if he just decides he wants to do it.

You cannot make elected officials … do what they will not do.

A President has a great chance; his position is almost that of a king and a prime minister rolled into one. Once he has left office he cannot do very much; and he is a fool if he fails to realize it all and to be profoundly thankful for having had the great chance.

If I get to be president, what can I do anyway? With Congress and the press, what chance do I have to make basic changes?

Politicians get their power too late, and I think that he has inherited an impossible situation in which he is ill-equipped to deal.

Control is not a luxury that most Presidents are allowed.

If a man's free will to adopt ideas and values is inalienable, his freedom of action - his freedom to put these ideas into effect in the world - is not in such a fortunate condition.

There are limits on what a president can achieve or do, but the expectations are so great.

All recent U.S. presidents have learned the hard way that, despite their immense power, they remain at the mercy of uncontrollable global forces that render their personal views and campaign promises largely irrelevant.

Politics can be strengthened by music, but music has a potency that defies politics.

You think your congressman is working all day to get you a job? He may want to. He or she is probably not a bad person. They probably want to do the right thing. But they can't.

If we can't have the courage to tell our constituents, hey, we've got to cut back, then if we can point to something and say, I would like to vote for more benefits for you, but this balanced budget amendment or statutory spending cap or whatever the device is, is preventing me from doing it.

There is nothing that I didn't get to do while I was serving in Congress - except be in the majority.

I really don't think there's a world in which you can do anything with anybody. Because we're in the world of the White House, I think there are certain things you can do, and larger things that can happen, but I don't think you can do anything.

Government is not a bottom line enterprise. You can get yourself elected ... but you can't fire the legislature if they won't do what you want.

Actually we're not hearing a lot about gas prices right now from constituents. And I think that reflects a growing understanding on the part of the public, that there really is very little that the government and politicians can do.

People think of politicians having true power, but that's less and less true. After all, they are often constrained or being edged into a corner by a whole series of contingencies.

We are all imperfect. We cannot expect perfect government.