Ronald Reagan dreamt of a nation focused on freedom and achieving its "destiny to be as a shining city on a hill for all mankind to see." Known as The Great Communicator during his presidency, he never felt it was the words he used that made a difference: it was the content. He has admitted that he wasn't a great communicator, but that he "communicated great things [that] came from the heart of a great nation." These are some of our favorite words of wisdom from one of our favorite American leaders.

Quotes by Ronald Reagan on the Government and Taxes

"The most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the government and I'm here to help."

"I have wondered at times about what the Ten Commandments would have looked like if Moses had run them through the U.S. Congress."

"The taxpayer: That's someone who works for the federal government but doesn't have to take the civil service examination."

"Government is like a baby: An alimentary canal with a big appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other."

"No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. A government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we will ever see on this earth."

"Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it."

"My friends, some years ago, the Federal Government declared war on poverty, and poverty won."

"Government is not the solution to our problems; government is the problem."

"Protecting the rights of even the least individual among us is basically the only excuse the government has for even existing."

Quotes by Ronald Reagan on the Cold War and the Military

"Here's my strategy on the Cold War: We win, they lose."

"Of the four wars in my lifetime, none came about because the U.S. was too strong."

Quotes by Ronald Reagan on Politics

"Socialism only works in two places: Heaven where they don't need it and hell where they already have it."

"The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they're ignorant; it's just that they know so much that isn't so."

"It has been said that politics is the second oldest profession. I have learned that it bears a striking resemblance to the first."

"Politics is not a bad profession. If you succeed, there are many rewards. If you disgrace yourself, you can always write a book."

Quotes by Ronald Reagan on the Nation

"No arsenal, or no weapon in the arsenals of the world, is as formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women."

"Whatever history may say of me when I'm gone, I hope it will say that I appealed to your best hopes, not your worst fears, to your confidences rather than your doubts."

"If we ever forget that we're one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under."

Ronald Reagan Quotes: Inspirational Quotes from the Iconic American President Ronald Reagan originally appeared in The Resistance Library at Ammo.com.

"Whatever history may say of me when I'm gone, I hope it will say that I appealed to your best hopes, not your worst fears, to your confidences rather than your doubts."

sigh... in just a couple of months, how we've been flipped from hope to doubt.  I never, ever imagined how FAST that could have happened.