Decision Points

by George W. Bush

But being the sober guy helped me realize how mindless I must have sounded when I drank.

When you know you have unconditional love, there is no point in rebellion and no need to fear failure.

People seized control by promising to promote certain ideals. Once they had consolidated power, they abused it, casting aside their beliefs and brutalizing their fellow citizens.

Government should respect its constitutional limits and give people the freedom to live their lives.

Ross Perot took 18.9 percent, including millions of votes that otherwise would have gone for George Bush.

The people you choose to surround you determine the quality of advice you receive and the way your goals are implemented.

It was not the role of government to promote any religion.

The election results would stand. By a tally of 2,912,790 to 2,912,253,

By providing some federal funding, I had whetted their appetite for more.

The toxic atmosphere in American politics discourages good people from running for office.

Some Republicans who had initially supported the policy feared for their seats and changed their minds.

I would pour my heart and soul into protecting the country, whatever it took.

One was Article II of the Constitution, which entrusts the president with wartime powers as commander in chief.

John Adams signed the Alien and Sedition Acts, which banned public dissent. Abraham Lincoln suspended habeas corpus during the Civil War. Franklin Roosevelt ordered Japanese Americans interned during World War II.

the calling of my presidency, was to protect America—within the authority granted to me by the Constitution.

By giving this terrorist the right to remain silent, we deprived ourselves of the opportunity to collect vital intelligence on his plan and his handlers.

Perceptions are shaped by the clarity of hindsight. In the moment of decision, you don’t have that advantage.

Afghanistan had earned a foreboding nickname: Graveyard of Empires.

As children starved, he launched a propaganda campaign blaming sanctions for the suffering.

But in the eyes of the media—and, therefore, of the public—none of this quiet progress could compete with the bombings and the beheadings.

The premise of the law is that success cannot be measured by dollars spent; it has to be judged by results achieved.

Dean was loud, shrill, and undisciplined.

The longest and tallest fence in the world would not stop those determined to provide for their families.

“If we’re really looking at another Great Depression,” I said, “you can be damn sure I’m going to be Roosevelt, not Hoover.”

financial institutions, depended on the confidence of its customers. Once that confidence was lost, the bank had no chance to survive.

We needed people to deny the enemy the panic they sought to create.