William Weld quotes:

Do we believe that there is equal economic opportunity out there in the real world, right now, for each and every one of these groups? If we believed in the tooth fairy, if we believed in the Easter Bunny, we might well believe that.

The system that had grown up in most states is that wealthy districts with an affluent population can afford to spend a lot more on their public school systems than the poorer districts.

I have come to realize that Jesse Helms stands for everything in politics that is anathema to me.

Speaking of tax fairness, it was Senator Kerry who voted to increase the income tax on senior citizens on Social Security, earning as little as $32,000 a year.

Government can contribute to a shared sense of purpose on the part of the citizenry; that's its highest and best application.

I think transportation and corrections are not the first two areas that I would go looking for massive change.

There are several such issues where I have departed radically from the Republican orthodoxy.

Managing people's sex lives is something that I don't think is a good role for government.

If we have major geographic areas within our continent that have a tremendous lack of economic opportunity, we found that that is going to produce instability _ economic, political and social.

It's healthy for government to be a kind of moral catalyst, using the bully pulpit of high office.

People aren't stupid. I mean, people remember in 1990, the unemployment rate was 10 percent. Now it's 4 _ percent. We've got 1/4 million jobs that we've created.

Opposing the free flow of goods or people is a bad idea.

Micro managing anything is not a great role for government.

I think government has a major role to play in helping us with the pursuit of happiness.

Before my tenure, people didn't seem to think that citizens had a right to limit the size of their government.

I suggest to you that increasing the size of America's economic pie - which can be achieved only if everybody has a seat at the table - is the most important challenge facing our country today.

I think coercive taxation is theft, and government has a moral duty to keep it to a minimum.

Government has a role as well in what is referred to as redistributive justice.

Natural resources are so vast that no single individual or business is going to protect them; they don't have an incentive to.

In the nineteenth century, slavery was the greatest wrong, and government never stood so tall as when it was redressing that wrong.

I dare say that a majority of the American people think that having a fair hearing on an issue of importance in our relations with Mexico is extremely important to our national interest, as well as theirs.

My slogan when I ran was that there is no such thing as government money, there is only taxpayer's money, and that cut pretty deep.

We need a complete ban on soft money, which is sort of an enveloping problem, and a ceiling on the amount of money that can be spent on a given race.

So government acts as a safeguard of our property.

Much is forgiven anyone who relieves the desperate boredom of the working press.

If we have major geographic areas within our continent that have a tremendous lack of economic opportunity, we found that that is going to produce instability economic, political and social.

The unemployment rate is still twice as high for blacks as for whites.

We absolutely have to restrain concentrations of wealth in industry from spoiling the situation for everybody.

It's not good for government to tell people that the world owes them a living and that things are free.

I extend that to the abortion issue, I extend that to the so-called gay rights issue, I think this is a freedom principle and consistent with the analysis in the economic area as well.

[Donald Trump] doesn't deal well with criticism and blame and I don't think he could competently manage the office of the presidency given the criticism and challenge that you face every single day as the President of the United States.

[Donald Trump] just would not be in his element and I think he would wobble off course and I think the country just can't have that.

[Donald Trump] would be chaos for the country, I think.

[James Comey] should have gone to the Public Integrity section and said 'What do you folks think.' It's a little bit of an odd situation because he's a former deputy attorney general as well as head of the FBI so he may have trouble keeping on only the investigator hat forgetting that he's a former deputy attorney general. So it's not a good thing, it's a distraction so I think we should just ignore it because there's nothing there so get on with the business of last week of the election.

[James] Comey's got a good background but there's nothing there, so far as it appears. Nothing there. So he wrote the letter to the eight Republican committee members copied to the Democrats saying 'you know some emails have turned up, we've looked at a lot of emails now it turns out there are even more emails - we don't know what's there, so there's absolutely no evidence whatsoever that could be of interest to anyone until we conduct our multi-week, multi-month investigation.

Gary Johnson was a strong governor.

Government is never so noble as when it is addressing wrongs.

I believe in the platform of the Libertarian party, which is different from that of the other two parties and I believe that it would be good for the country if the Libertarians were - had a seat at the table to speak truth to power of the other two parties, which now have this monopoly in Washington. Having said that, I'm not taking back anything I said about the massive difference between the two establishment party candidates.

I don't understand the Democrats' approach to Social Security in this country, and I'm not alone.

I have a lot to say about Mrs. [Hillary] Clinton that has not been said by others recently and that I think needs to be said. I mean I've known her for 40 years. I worked with her, I know her well professionally. I know her well personally. I know her to be a person of high moral character. A reliable person and an honest person, however Mr. [Donald] Trump may rant and rave to the contrary. So I'm happy to say that. People can make their own choices.

I mean that psychologically. I think [Donald Trump] showed in the debates when he encounters criticism or challenge he behaves the way a bully would. He just doesn't take it well.

I see a big difference between the Republican candidate and the Democratic candidate.

I talk with Gary [Johnson] every other day, we're on different coasts usually but we keep in touch and - yeah, no I do not agree with that release.

I think Gary Johnson would be capable of being a good chief executive and yes a commander in chief - Aleppo to the contrary, notwithstanding.

I think Hillary Clinton deserves to have people vouch for her other than members of the Democratic National Committee.

I think in the real world that's probably correct. That would give federal matching funds. It would mean no more ballot access woes.

I think it would be a threat [Donald's Trump presidency] to the conduct of our foreign policy and our position in the world at large.

I think the dignity of Congress and the dignity of the country demands something more than merely censure here.

It's completely idiot proof." I told them they've got it all wrong. I want a machine that is "idiot friendly.

I've been at some pains to say that I fear for the country if Mr.[DonALD] Trump should be elected. I think it's a candidacy without any parallel that I can recall.

Liberals often don't see the problems, and conservatives don't see the promise, of government.

Nobody can tell me that no changes are necessary in Washington.

One of the functions of government is to act as a safeguard not just of property but of our liberties.

The best preparation for work is not thinking about work, talking about work, or studying for work: it is work.

The courts are truly the least dangerous of the three branches of our government.

There's no Walter Cronkite to give you the final word each evening.

We are making our case that we're fiscally responsible and socially inclusive and welcoming. And we think we've got on the merits the best ticket of the three parties, if you will, and so, you know, we'd like to get there.

We speak for all citizens of the Commonwealth when we say that society can draw great hope for the future because of the example which these young people are giving by their creative and constructive responses to the challenges which confront our communities and dedication to help those most in need.

We thought for the longest time we might have a chance to run the table because we're such nice guys and centrist party, etcetera, but not getting into the debates really sort of foreclosed that option.

We're getting to the point where we're impinging on democratic institutions in this country and I think, you know, it takes a certain - not a suspension of disbelief - but willingness to go along with other people to get the ship of state going forward. I'm not sure that happens in a [Donald] Trump presidency, frankly.

You know in fairness Gary [Johnson] and I have not agreed on a number of substantive issues in this campaign, tax policy, we've had some influence on each other, I think I've had some influence on him, on constructive engagement around the world, he's had some influence on me in criminal justice reform issues.