“I wish I had known more firsthand about the concerns and problems of American businesspeople while I was a U.S. senator and later a presidential nominee. That knowledge would have made me a better legislator and a more worthy aspirant to the White House.”
Knowledge
“I did frequently refer to my war record in World War II, but not in any flamboyant way.”
WarAll Quotes by George McGovern
“I make one pledge above all others - to seek and speak the truth with all the resources of mind and spirit I command.”
Truth“I did frequently refer to my war record in World War II, but not in any flamboyant way.”
War“The Establishment center... has led us into the stupidest and cruelest war in all history. That war is a moral and political disaster - a terrible cancer eating away at the soul of our nation.”
History“When I was in the war, I was lucky that I was in a plane and never saw the carnage close-up.”
War“The truth is that I oppose the Iraq war, just as I opposed the Vietnam War, because these two conflicts have weakened the U.S. and diminished our standing in the world and our national security.”
Truth“It's a tough thing, to know what to do about a war that deep in your gut you feel is wrong and yet watch your peers going off to fight in that war.”
War“I've come to realize that protecting freedom of choice in our everyday lives is essential to maintaining a healthy civil society.”
Freedom“When I was a youngster growing up in South Dakota, we never referred to the national debt, it was always referred to as the war debt because it stemmed from World War I.”
War“I seek to call America home to those principles that gave us birth.”
Home“The highest patriotism is not a blind acceptance of official policy, but a love of one's country deep enough to call her to a higher plain.”
Love“I thought the Vietnam war was an utter, unmitigated disaster, so it was very hard for me to say anything good about it.”
War“Democrats believe that the federal government is not our enemy, it's our partner.”
Government“I'm fed up to the ears with old men dreaming up wars for young men to die in.”
Men“Politics is an act of faith you have to show some kind of confidence in the intellectual and moral capacity of the public.”
Faith“I think it was my study of history that convinced me that the Democratic Party was more on the side of the average American.”
History“I hope someday we will be able to proclaim that we have banished hunger in the United States, and that we've been able to bring nutrition and health to the whole world.”
Health“I hope I live long enough to see every hungry school child in the world being fed under the so-called McGovern-Dole program.”
Hope“People didn't have the political guts to stand up against an American war.”
War“Well, we ought to be stirred, even to tears, by society's ills.”
Society