b5media

February 18th,2008

Happy President’s Day from the Business Channel!

By Kelly Erb

It’s President’s Day! We traditionally celebrate President’s Day in the United States by paying homage to two of our most noteworthy presidents, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. At the Business Channel, however, we aren’t afraid to do things a little differently.

So, in honor of President’s Day, I’m going to post some of the most interesting words uttered by our Presidents - and try and match phrases with our blogs. Some hits, some misses. And since there are 36 blogs and 43 presidents, there are some duplicates but that’s part of the fun. Who gets George W? Read on!

If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter. George Washington

All the perplexities, confusion and distress in America arise, not from defects in their Constitution or Confederation, not from want of honor or virtue, so much as from the downright ignorance of the nature of coin, credit and circulation. John Adams

Banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies. Thomas Jefferson

As a man is said to have a right to his property, he may be equally said to have a property in his rights. James Madison

Let us by wise and constitutional measures promote intelligence among the people as the best means of preserving our liberties. James Monroe

If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader. John Quincy Adams

Every diminution of the public burdens arising from taxation gives to individual enterprise increased power and furnishes to all the members of our happy confederacy new motives for patriotic affection and support. Andrew Jackson

I tread in the footsteps of illustrious men… in receiving from the people the sacred trust confided to my illustrious predecessor. Martin van Buren

The prudent capitalist will never adventure his capital . . . if there exists a state of uncertainty as to whether the Government will repeal tomorrow what it has enacted today. William Henry Harrison

Popularity, I have always thought, may aptly be compared to a coquette - the more you woo her, the more apt is she to elude your embrace. John Tyler

The passion for office among members of Congress is very great, if not absolutely disreputable, and greatly embarrasses the operations of the Government. They create offices by their own votes and then seek to fill them themselves. James Knox Polk

I think this is a great idea and I do like knowing where my donations are going. I’m a lot more willing to contribute to a cause this way. Zachary Taylor

It is not strange… to mistake change for progress. Millard Fillmore

Frequently the more trifling the subject, the more animated and protracted the discussion. Franklin Pierce

People from different traditions, don’t realize what they will encounter. James Buchanan

A woman is the only thing I am afraid of that I know will not hurt me. Abraham Lincoln

It’s a damn poor mind that can only think of one way to spell a word. Andrew Johnson

Labor disgraces no man, but occasionally men disgrace labor. Ulysses S. Grant

The bold enterprises are the successful ones. Take counsel of hopes rather than of fears to win in this business. Rutherford B. Hayes

If wrinkles must be written on our brows, let them not be written upon the heart. The spirit should never grow old. James A. Garfield

Since I came here I have learned that Chester A. Arthur is one man and the President of the United States is another. Chester Arthur

Sometimes I wake at night in the White House and rub my eyes and wonder if it is not all a dream. Grover Cleveland

There never has been a time in our history when work was so abundant or when wages were as high, whether measured by the currency in which they are paid or by their power to supply the necessaries and comforts of life. Benjamin Harrison

That’s all a man can hope for during his lifetime - to set an example - and when he is dead, to be an inspiration for history. William McKinley

Get action. Seize the moment. Man was never intended to become an oyster. Theodore Roosevelt

Don’t write so that you can be understood, write so that you can’t be misunderstood. William Howard Taft

America lives in the heart of every man everywhere who wishes to find a region where he will be free to work out his destiny as he chooses. Woodrow Wilson

I don’t know what to do or where to turn in this taxation matter. Somewhere there must be a book that tells all about it, where I could go to straighten it out in my mind. But I don’t know where the book is, and maybe I couldn’t read it if I found it. Warren C. Harding

No man ever listened himself out of a job. Calvin Coolidge

America - a great social and economic experiment, noble in motive and far-reaching in purpose. Herbert Hoover

The nation that destroys its soil destroys itself. Franklin D. Roosevelt

All the president is, is a glorified public relations man who spends his time flattering, kissing, and kicking people to get them to do what they are supposed to do anyway. Harry S. Truman

I would rather try to persuade a man to go along, because once I have persuaded him, he will stick. If I scare him, he will stay just as long as he is scared, and then he is gone. Dwight D. Eisenhower

Things do not happen. Things are made to happen. John F. Kennedy, Jr.

Any jackass can kick down a barn but it takes a good carpenter to build one. Lyndon B. Johnson

By the time you get dressed, drive out there, play 18 holes and come home, you’ve blown seven hours. There are better things you can do with your time. Richard M. Nixon

I am acutely aware that you have not elected me as your President by your ballots, so I ask you to confirm me with your prayers. Gerald R. Ford

My decision to register women confirms what is already obvious throughout our society-that women are now providing all types of skills in every profession. The military should be no exception. Jimmy Carter

Each generation goes further than the generation preceding it because it stands on the shoulders of that generation. You will have opportunities beyond anything we’ve ever known. Ronald Reagan

I am not one who - who flamboyantly believes in throwing a lot of words around. George H. W. Bush

Today, many companies are reporting that their number one constraint on growth is the inability to hire workers with the necessary skills. William J. Clinton

I have a different vision of leadership. A leadership is someone who brings people together. George W. Bush

What’s your favorite? Is there one that didn’t make the list?

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