Quotes by Lamar Alexander

“We are the only country in the world that has taken people from so many different backgrounds, which is a great achievement by itself, but an even greater achievement is that we have turned all of that variety and diversity into unity.”

“September 11 is one of our worst days but it brought out the best in us. It unified us as a country and showed our charitable instincts and reminded us of what we stood for and stand for.”

“We do all the appropriating. They do not do any of it down at the White House. They send a budget up here, and we dont have to pay any attention it to at all. We do what we want to do.”

“As Governor, I could think of only one way to unify our State that was made up of so many different climates, political beliefs and people, and that was our music.”

“It is a rare American who does not have some story about how music has made our lives richer and more interesting, how it has changed our moods, brought out the best in our character and even sometimes helped us earn a living.”

“The job of mayor and Governor is becoming more and more like the job of university president, which I used to be; it looks like you are in charge, but you are not.”

“Put too many one-size-fits-all jackets on Americans and the place explodes.”

“Every day before school, I would bang away on Czerny, Bach, Beethoven and Mozart-and throw in a little Jerry Lee Lewis when I thought no one was around to correct me.”

“In Washington, DC, Democrats still stuck in the New Deal are reflexively searching for national solutions to local problems. We Republicans, having found ourselves in charge, have decided it is more blessed to impose our views rather than to liberate America from Washingtons views.”

“There are a growing number of conservatives and Republicans who, while they support the president and support the war in Iraq, wonder how many of these nation-building wars were going to engage in and what the parameters of that are.”

Most people who get in trouble in politics usually get in trouble because theyre disconnected from the people they serve, and I dont think anybody in Tennessee, even people who wont vote for me, would accuse me of that.