From the hindsight of history George Washington seems larger than life, more statuesque than man. Too bad! Washington's greatness as a leader was courage under fire and persistence in the face of obstacles. Yet even he at times doubted himself. But he put those doubts aside and forged ahead, convinced of his noble purpose.
Washington is a city of money. It's a flood of money.
Back in 1792, Dr. Benjamin Banneker, the famed African-American inventor and scientist in Washington, proposed a Department of Peace for the new Nation to his friends George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. His prophetic suggestion was not implemented; but now, more than 200 years later, the need for a Peace Department is too compelling to ignore.
The boys have been running Washington for a long-ass time. We're talking 200-some-odd years.
You have to keep a sense of humor about yourself, more than anything else. You've got to take the issues very seriously, but you can't take yourself too seriously. And Washington is a city in which everybody takes themselves extraordinarily seriously.
I don't want anybody between a doctor and a patient - not an insurance company bureaucrat or a Washington bureaucrat.
True health care reform cannot happen in Washington. It has to happen in our kitchens, in our homes, in our communities. All health care is personal.
It's kind of the Washington, D. C. , chattering class. They kind of talk amongst themselves.
Our founders insisted that protecting the states' power to govern themselves was vital to limit the power of Washington and preserve freedom.
When George Washington was elected president, there was no national vote.
As so often happens with Washington scandals, it isn't the original scandal that gets people in the most trouble - it's the attempted cover-up.
I'm not a big fan of the post-Armageddon stories, where Denzel Washington is walking around in a torn coat.
The reason that democracies always defeat dictatorships is because they're open to debate. We should never allow Washington to say, 'Shut up, get in line and wave the flag. '
I don't think you could have a banker serving in a major role in Washington in the next 10 years. I just don't think it's going to happen - it's just not politically feasible - so I don't spend much time thinking about it. Do I think I could do a good job? Maybe. It's possible.
I know your breed; all your fine officials debauch the younger girls who are afraid to lose their jobs: that's as old as Washington.
But it's been a great, humbling - and I've been very honored to have the opportunity to serve and to lead and to be the representative of our soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines who are in Washington. And it's been the greatest honor of my life.
Marijuana was made illegal because of William Randolph Hearst, the big newspaper guy. He owned thousands of acres of timberland and he didn't want hemp to be used for paper, he wanted to force everyone to buy his trees. And that's why he was the one that spearheaded making it illegal in Washington. Always follow the money, it's done for money purposes.
I don't think it's bribery; I think it's extortion. Bribery, you know, is when the person that's giving the money does it voluntarily. What it is in Washington is extortion because they all ask for the money.
As American families and businesses have been forced to tighten their belts, Washington has refused to do the same.
Washington, D. C. is full of think tanks, theoreticians and advocacy groups. Governors are the ones whose feet are on the ground.