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Ive said many a time that I think the Un-American Activities Committee in the House of Representatives was the most un-American thing in America!
-Harry S Truman
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People are very much wrought up about the Communist bugaboo.
-Harry S Truman
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They said we were soft, that we would not fight, that we could not win. We are not a warlike nation. We do not go to war for gain or for territory; we go to war for principles, and we produce young men like these. I think I told every one of them that I would rather have that medal, the Congressional Medal of Honor, than to be President of the United States.
-Harry S Truman
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I got very well acquainted with Joe Stalin, and I like old Joe! He is a decent fellow. But Joe is a prisoner of the Politburo.
-Harry S Truman
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The Buck Stops Here
-Harry S Truman
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Shortly after I was elected, in Nineteen Hundred and Forty-eight, I made up my mind that I would not seek another term. I have seen a great many men in public life, and one of their besetting sins is to stay in office too long. Nowadays, in such organizations as the Army and the civil service and industry, there is compulsory retirement, but no such regulations prevail in politics. I decided that I would not be guilty of this common failing, and that I should make way for younger menand the Constitutional Amendment Number twenty-two, the two-term amendment, does not apply to me. The people responsible for the 22nd amendment thought I was not worth considering and that Id be beaten in 1948 so I was exempted.
-Harry S Truman
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Whenever the press quits abusing me I know Im in the wrong pew. I dont mind it because when they throw bricks at meIm a pretty good shot myself and I usually throw em back at em.
-Harry S Truman
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The legislative job of the President is especially important to the people who have no special representatives to plead their cause before Congressand that includes the great majority. I sometimes express it by saying the President is the only lobbyist that one hundred and fifty million Americans have. The other twenty million are able to employ people to represent themand thats all right, its the exercise of the right of petitionbut someone has to look after the interests of the one hundred and fifty million that are left.
-Harry S Truman
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When contemplating General Eisenhower winning the Presidential election, Truman said, Hell sit here, and hell say, Do this! Do that! And nothing will happen. Poor Ikeit wont be a bit like the Army. Hell find it very frustrating.
-Harry S Truman
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You know, the greatest epitaph in the country is here in Arizona. Its in Tombstone, Ariz. , and this epitaph says, Here lies Jack Williams. He done his damndest. I think that is the greatest epitaph a man could have. Whenever a man does the best he can, then that is all he can do; and that is what your President has been trying to do for the last 3 years for this country.
-Harry S Truman
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There has been a lot of talk lately about the burdens of the Presidency. Decisions that the President has to make often affect the lives of tens of millions of people around the world, but that does not mean that they should take longer to make. Some men can make decisions and some cannot. Some men fret and delay under criticism. I used to have a saying that applies here, and I note that some people have picked it up, If you cant stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.
-Harry S Truman
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Politics is a fascinating game, because politics is government. It is the art of government.
-Harry S Truman
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Im proud that Im a politician. A politician is a man who understands government, and it takes a politician to run a government. A statesman is a politician whos been dead 10 or 15 years.
-Harry S Truman
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On May 14 I was informed that the Provisional Government of Israel was planning to proclaim a Jewish state at midnight that day, Palestine time, which was when the British mandate came to an end. I decided to move at once and give American recognition to the new nation. I instructed a member of my staff to communicate my decision to the State Department and prepare it for transmission to Ambassador Austin at the United Nations in New York. About thirty minutes later, exactly eleven minutes after Israel had been proclaimed a state, Charlie Ross, my press secretary, handed the press the announcement of the de facto recognition by the United States of the provisional government of Israel.
-Harry S Truman
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Acceptance
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We must have strong minds, ready to accept facts as they are.
-Harry S Truman
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Age
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How do you live a long life? Take a two-mile walk every morning before breakfast.
-Harry S Truman
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Art
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If that's art, I'm a Hottentot!
-Harry S Truman
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Attitude
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Whenever a fellow tells me he is bipartisan, I know he's going to vote against me.
-Harry S Truman
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Challenges
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If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.
-Harry S Truman
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Children
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I have found the best way to give advice to your children is to find out what they want and then advise them to do it.
-Harry S Truman
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Choice
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All my life, whenever it comes time to make a decision, I make it and forget about it.
-Harry S Truman
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Communication
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We shall never be able to remove suspicion and fear as potential causes of war until communication is permitted to flow, free and open, across international boundaries.
-Harry S Truman
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Confusion
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If you can't convince them; confuse them.
-Harry S Truman
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Decisions
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Whenever I make a bum decision, I go out and make another one.
-Harry S Truman
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Depression
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It's a recession when your neighbor loses his job; it's a depression when you lose your own.
-Harry S Truman
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Books by and about Harry S Truman