Nancy Reagan Quotations

To my young friends out there: Life can be great, but not when you can't see it. So, open your eyes to life: to see it in the vivid colors that God gave us as a precious gift to His children, to enjoy life to the fullest, and to make it count. Say yes to your life.

I thought Obama ran the best campaign I have ever known - disciplined, well organised, very, very good. I was very impressed.

There is no job description for the first lady and she's only there because her husband got elected president.

I have been very happy with my homes, but homes really are no more than the people who live in them.

I was doing everything I could think of to protect my husband and keep him alive.

I have been criticized and ridiculed for turning to astrology, but after a while, I reached the point where I didn't care.

I must say acting was good training for the political life which lay ahead for us.

I've had quite a life, when you stop and think about it.

It is true that when you're in the White House alone, it is a lonely place. Big and lonely.

I do not believe in abortion at will. I do not believe that if a woman just wants to have an abortion she should... I do believe if you have an abortion you are committing murder.

I believe that people would be alive today if there were a death penalty.

There's a big, wonderful world out there for you. It belongs to you. It's exciting and stimulating and rewarding. Don't cheat yourself out of this promise.

I am a big believer that eventually everything comes back to you. You get back what you give out.

You learn something out of everything, and you come to realize more than ever that we're all here for a certain space of time, and, and then it's going to be over, and you better make this count.

My life really began when I married my husband.

I don't intend for this to take on a political tone. I'm just here for the drugs.

When people say, 'You have Alzheimer's,' you have no idea what Alzheimer's is. You know it's not good. You know there's no light at the end of the tunnel. That's the only way you can go. But you really don't know anything about it. And you don't know what to expect.

Feminism is the ability to choose what you want to do.

Now science has presented us with a hope called stem cell research, which may provide our scientists with many answers that have for so long been beyond our grasp.

Everything just fell into place with Ronnie and me. We completed each other.

As I've said before, time is short, and life is precious.

With Alzheimer's patients, you have to be very careful what you say when you're looking at them over their bed. Because once in a while, they understand it.

I said from the very beginning, I don't want a big house, I don't want big grounds, I don't want the trouble with the maintenance and all of that.

I'm very grateful that President Obama has lifted the restrictions on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research.

It is well known that my husband and Lady Thatcher enjoyed a very special relationship as leaders of their respective countries during one of the most difficult and pivotal periods in modern history. Ronnie and Margaret were political soul mates, committed to freedom and resolved to end Communism.

I'm against abortion. On the other hand, I believe in a woman's choice.

For eight years, I was sleeping with the president, and if that doesn't give you special access, I don't know what does!

My mother was a Democrat - southern Democrat, y'all.

I urge researchers to make use of the opportunities that are available to them and to do all they can to fulfill the promise that stem cell research offers.

I don't think most people associate me with leeches or how to get them off. But I know how to get them off. I'm an expert at it.

You just get up each day and put one foot in front of the other and go. You know, each day is different.

I don't talk about political matters. That's not my department.

Embryonic stem cell research has the potential to alleviate so much suffering. Surely, by working together we can harness its life-giving potential.

People don't understand that all presidents, the minute they become president, get a knock at the door. And there's a man there saying, 'Let's talk about your funeral.' At the time I thought, God, that's a terrible thing. Later on, I thought it was pretty wise.

From the moment I walked into the White House, it was as if I had no privacy at all.

I see the first lady as another means to keep a president from becoming isolated.

A lot of what acting is paying attention.

It's always written that my father was a rich, conservative John Bircher. That is untrue. He was not rich. He was not a John Bircher.

You know, the polls show that 70 percent of the people are for stem-cell research.

A lot of business can be accomplished in the state dinners.

I chose to have a career, and I enjoyed it while I had it.

I'm fine, except, you know, I broke my pelvis. And that's not much fun.

I'm particularly happy that the Ronald Reagan Building is both public and private, and embraces his lifelong belief... in free and open trade.

I've always gone for the more understated look.

I think a woman gets more if she acts feminine.

Remember, I'm a doctor's daughter. So obviously I'm interested in all medical things.

I couldn't possibly lead the kind of life I lead, and keep the schedule that I do, having radiation or chemotherapy.

I don't know when I'm going to have time to be politically active.

I don't like a lot of frills and fusses.

I rarely think about myself that much. I really don't.

I was the one who was always calling people.

one of our finest ambassadors for America and for freedom.

I believe there would be people alive today if there were a death penalty.

It is an honor and a pleasure for me to help welcome Spirit of Ronald Reagan to its new home at March Air Reserve Base, in the heart of my husband's beloved California.

I think people would be alive today if there were a death penalty

with great confidence that Justice Rehnquist would provide the leadership to guide the courts in their proper role.

It was wonderful to see President and Mrs. Bush today. It gave me a chance to thank them again for the kindness they provided at the time of Ronnie's funeral. I repeated my full support of his re-election and my hope that everyone will join in supporting his campaign.

It was wonderful to see President and Mrs. Bush today, ... It gave me a chance to thank them again for the kindness they provided at the time of Ronnie's funeral. I repeated my full support of his re-election and my hope that everyone will join in supporting his campaign.

Rudy would write him and ask him, or tell him, about his school work or what he was doing in school, ... Ronnie would write him and tell him, when we'd gotten back from a trip, about the trip and what he'd seen.

A woman is like a tea bag, you can not tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water

A woman is like a teabag - only in hot water do you realize how strong she is.

His legacy is a strong and free America, and for this and for a lifetime of selfless service, a grateful nation thanks him.

But I decided to clean out Ronnie's sock drawer instead.

the charm, the humor, the intelligence -- the wise man that he is.

The completion of this project is the realization of Ronnie's dream: to attract individuals from all walks of life to his library so they might learn about the presidency and American leadership in the world.

The Sixties, of course, was the worst time in the world to try and bring up a child. They were exposed to all these crazy things going on.

My job is being 'Mrs. Ronald Reagan.'

I favor capital punishment. It saves lives.

The movies were custard compared to politics....

My life didn't really begin until I met Ronnie.

Upon hearing the results of her breast examination, the First Lady said - "I guess it's my turn."

Throughout Ronnie's presidency, there was an ongoing public discussion as to how much influence the first lady should have on the president. It's hardly a new problem. As long as mankind has lived in groups, there's always been a question of how to handle the boss's wife.

I don't really yell at people.

It's one of the best programs I've ever seen because it benefits both sides: children, who need love, and grandparents, elderly people, who need to feel wanted.

What it boils down to is that each person has his own ways of coping with trauma and grief, with the pain of life, and astrology was one of mine. Don't criticize me, I wanted to say, until you have stood in my place. This helped me. Nobody was hurt by it.

Why take chances? It may be nonsense, but does anybody really know? And people have certainly been fascinated by astrology for thousands of years.

Just because you're married [to the president] doesn't mean you've given up your right to have and opinion.

I'm doing what I want to do.

Just say no to drugs!

I must say that acting was good training for the political life that lay ahead of us.

People should be afraid of the cancer, not the mammogram.

The White House belongs to all Americans. It's supposed to be something we're proud of.

Countless people, suffering from many different diseases, stand to benefit from the answers stem cell research can provide. We owe it to ourselves and to our children to do everything in our power to find cures for these diseases - and soon. As I've said before, time is short, and life is precious.

I always liked red. It's a picker-upper.

What can you say about a man, who on Mother's Day sends flowers to his mother-in-law, with a note thanking her for making him the happiest man on Earth?

They were very short, the golden years. The golden years are when you can sit back, hopefully, and exchange memories. And that's the worst part about this disease. There's nobody to exchange memories with.

Presidents don't get vacations - they just get a change of scenery. The job goes with you.

Pornography is pornography, what is there to see? Movies are attempting to destroy something that's supposed to be the most beautiful thing a man and a woman can have by making it cheap and common. It's what you don't see that's attractive.

I am a big believer that you have to nourish any relationship. I am still very much a part of my friends' lives and they are very much a part of my life. A First Lady who does not have this source of strength and comfort can lose perspective and become isolated.

A friend of mine said to me a year ago, "You're so lucky, Nancy, because Ronnie left you the library," She said, "You have that to work on, and to go to, and, in a sense, to be with him." I had never thought of it like that, but it's true. I go to the library or work for the library all the time, because it's Ronnie. I'm working for Ronnie.

I think more people would be alive today if there were a death penalty.

Every woman is entitled to an opinion and the right to express that opinion-especially to the man she's married to.

People aren't really poor until they start using water on their corn flakes.

Drugs take away the dream from every child's heart and replace it with a nightmare, and it's time we in America stand up and replace those dreams.

Dont ever lose hope. Even when life seems bleak and hopeless, know that you are not alone.

I realized how valuable the art and practice of writing letters are, and how important it is to remind people of what a treasure letters--handwritten letters--can be. In our throwaway era of quick phone calls, faxes, and email, it's all to easy never to find the time to write letters. That's a great pity--for historians and the rest of us.

A woman is like a tea bag. She only knows her strength when put in hot water.