Thomas P. O'Neill Jr.

“All politics is local.”

“Public service is a damn good thing.”

“My father always told me, 'Give a guy a break. If you can't say something good about a guy, say nothing.'”

“If you're not a liberal when you're 25, you have no heart. If you're not a conservative by the time you're 35, you have no brain.”

“I learned long ago never to wrestle with a pig. You get dirty, and besides, the pig likes it.”

“The problem with this country is that there are too many people in it who have never been hungry.”

“It is the responsibility of the media to look at the president with a microscope, but they go too far when they use a proctoscope.”

“A friend in need is a pest.”

“You have to be loyal to the people that got you there.”

“I'm a man of the House. I've been here for 34 years.”

“The Democratic Party is the party of the people. If we're not the party of the people, we're not the party of anyone.”

“A politician would do well to remember that he has to live with his conscience for a longer time than he does with his constituents.”