50 Bill Clinton Quotes from the 42nd President of the United States

Each president leaves his mark on the country.

Here are some Bill Clinton quotes to show the impact that he had.

There is no denying that former president Bill Clinton left his mark on the country, both good and bad.

Some remember him only for the sex scandal that he was involved in along with the fact that he was the 2nd president in history to be impeached.

Others remember him solely for the impact that he had on the country, leaving office with one of the highest approval ratings in modern history.

Here are some Bill Clinton quotes to give you more light on our former president.

Don’t forget to also check out these wise presidential quotes from our past leaders. 

Also, check out our most popular quote article, a list of short inspirational quotes for daily wisdom. 

See the rest of our quote database for even more inspirational ideas and thoughts.

Wise Bill Clinton quotes

1. “We all do better when we work together. Our differences do matter, but our common humanity matters more.” – Bill Clinton

2. “If you live long enough, you’ll make mistakes. But if you learn from them, you’ll be a better person. It’s how you handle adversity, not how it affects you. The main thing is never quit, never quit, never quit.” – Bill Clinton

3. “We know we have to face hard truths and take strong steps, but we have not done so; instead, we have drifted. And that drifting has eroded our resources, fractured our economy, and shaken our confidence.’” – Bill Clinton

4. “Sometimes when people are under stress, they hate to think, and it’s the time when they most need to think.” – Bill Clinton

5. “We cannot build our own future without helping others to build theirs.” – Bill Clinton

6. “When our memories outweigh our dreams, it is then that we become old.” – Bill Clinton

7. “A man is more than the sum of all the things he can do.” – Bill Clinton

8. “You have to make a conscious decision to change for your own well-being, and that of your family and your country.” – Bill Clinton

9. “The road to tyranny, we must never forget, begins with the destruction of the truth.” – Bill Clinton

10. “Work is about more than making a living, as vital as that is. It’s fundamental to human dignity, to our sense of self-worth as useful, independent, free people.” – Bill Clinton

Political Bill Clinton quotes

11. “Being president is like running a cemetery: you’ve got a lot of people under you and nobody’s listening.” – Bill Clinton

12. “I want American Dream growth – lots of new businesses, well-paying jobs, and American leadership in new industries, like clean energy and biotechnology.” – Bill Clinton

13. “There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured with what is right in America.” – Bill Clinton

14. “You know, everybody makes mistakes when they are president.” – Bill Clinton

15. “When I was president, I worked hard to give you more peace and shared prosperity, to give you an America where nobody is invisible or counted out.” – Bill Clinton

16. “Our democracy cannot survive its current downward drift into tribalism, extremism, and seething resentment. Today it’s “us versus them” in America. Politics is little more than blood sport. As a result, our willingness to believe the worst about everyone outside our own bubble is growing, and our ability to solve problems and seize opportunities is shrinking. We have to do better. We have honest differences. We need vigorous debates. Healthy skepticism is good. It saves us from being too naive or too cynical. But it is impossible to preserve democracy when the well of trust runs completely dry.” – Bill Clinton

17. “If one candidate is appealing to your fears, and the other one’s appealing to your hopes, you’d better vote for the person who wants you to think and hope!” – Bill Clinton

18. “Obama doesn’t know how to be President. He doesn’t know how the world works. He’s incompetent. He’s an amateur!” – Bill Clinton

19. “May God bless the United States of America and all who call it home.” – Bill Clinton

20. “At the end of the Constitutional Convention, a citizen asked Benjamin Franklin what kind of government our founders had given us. He replied, “A republic, if you can keep it.” That’s a job no president can do alone. It’s up to all of us to keep it. And to make the most of it.” – Bill Clinton

Thought provoking Bill Clinton Quotes

21. “I still believe in a place called hope, a place called America.” – Bill Clinton

22. “Yesterday is yesterday. If we try to recapture it, we will only lose tomorrow.” – Bill Clinton

23. “The greatest lesson, especially for young people, is that, while bad things do happen to good people, we still have the freedom and responsibility to decide how to respond to justice.” – Bill Clinton

24. “The world has always been more impressed by the power of our example than by the example of our power.” – Bill Clinton

25. “Strength and wisdom are not opposing values.” – Bill Clinton

26. “I learned a lot from the stories my uncle, aunts and grandparents told me: that no one is perfect but most people are good; that people can’t be judged by their worst or weakest moments; that harsh judgments can make hypocrites of us all; that a lot of life is just showing up and hanging on; that laughter is often the best, and sometimes the only response to pain. Perhaps most importantly, I learned that everyone has a story – of dreams and nightmares, hope and heartache, love and loss, courage and fear, sacrifice, and selfishness.” – Bill Clinton

27. “If you want to have a good life you have to have some constructive outlet for your feelings.” – Bill Clinton

28. “The price of doing the same old thing is far higher than the price of change.” – Bill Clinton

29. “Character is a journey, not a destination.” – Bill Clinton

30. “For too long, politicians told most of us what’s wrong with America is the rest of us. Them. Them the minorities. Them the liberals. Them, them, them. But there is no them; there’s only us One nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty, and justice, for all.” – Bill Clinton

Bill Clinton quotes from his book “The President Is Missing”

31. “The media knows what sells—conflict and division. It’s also quick and easy. All too often anger works better than answers; resentment better than reason; emotion trumps evidence. A sanctimonious, sneering one-liner, no matter how bogus, is seen as straight talk, while a calm, well-argued response is seen as canned and phony.” – Bill Clinton

32. “Gerald Ford once said that an impeachable offense is whatever a majority of the House of Representatives says it is.” – Bill Clinton

33. “All too often, those who rail against “them” prevail over earnest pleas to remember what “we” can be and do together. Our brains have worked this way for a long time. Maybe they always will. But we have to keep trying. That’s the permanent mission our Founding Fathers left us—moving toward the “more perfect union.” – Bill Clinton

34. “I’m out of rabbits and hats to pull them out of.” – Bill Clinton

35. “And you hear me, you unelected flunky. I only take orders from the president. Until I hear from him, I’ll be.” – Bill Clinton

36. “The American dream works when our common humanity matters more than our interesting differences and when together they create endless possibilities. That’s an America worth fighting—even dying—for.” – Bill Clinton    

37. “Her close-cropped hair is now completely gray. Her eyes are probing but kind.” – Bill Clinton

38. “If this guy ever had an unselfish thought, as my mama would say, it would die of loneliness.” – Bill Clinton

39. “The first two times you heard me speak, I sounded like a fool. I made about as much sense as a top hat on a mule. I wasn’t sure a third attempt would do me any better, So I decided that I’d put my thoughts down in a letter.” – Bill Clinton

40. “Nobody does anything for nothing.” – Bill Clinton

More Bill Clinton quotes and sayings

41. “I feel your pain.” – Bill Clinton

42. “Now, I have to go back to work on my State of the Union speech. And I worked on it until pretty late last night. I want to say one thing to the American people. I want you to listen to me. I’m going to say this again. I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky. I never told anybody to lie, not a single time, never. These allegations are false, and I need to go back to work for the American people.” – Bill Clinton

43. “I may not have been the greatest president, but I’ve had the most fun eight years.” – Bill Clinton

44. “If President Reagan could be an actor and become president, maybe I could become an actor. I’ve got a good pension. I can work for cheap.” – Bill Clinton

45. “Sometimes I feel like the fire hydrant looking at a pack of dogs.” – Bill Clinton

46. “It depends on what the meaning of the words ‘is’ is.” – Bill Clinton

47. “Everyone should have access to a healthy diet, to a reasonable exercise program and to fundamental checkups.” – Bill Clinton

48. “Don’t ever devalue your potential to make a difference. Don’t ever assume someone will not help you. Don’t ever forget we now know that inclusion, diversity and creative cooperation lead to better results.” – Bill Clinton

49. “The truth is that in the world we live in, creative cooperation, involving diverse partnerships of people who both have lived different lives, and know different things, are the best mechanisms for solving complex social policy problems.” – Bill Clinton

50. “I haven’t eaten at a McDonald’s since I became President.” – Bill Clinton

What did you learn from these Bill Clinton quotes?

Regardless of what party lines you fall on, there is something to be learned from each president that holds the office.

Many of the Bill Clinton quotes above can be applied to life or can teach something in one form or another.

Some of the quotes are meant to entertain and others to provide insight.

Clinton was one of the first democratic presidents to be re-elected for a second term in our modern years.

He also oversaw our country during the longest number of years of peacetime expansion.

If you want to know more about Clinton or his presidency, there are many books that you can read to educate yourself on his topics, stances, and life.

Did you enjoy these Bill Clinton quotes and sayings?

Which other leaders would you like to see featured on Everyday Power?

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