List of United States political catchphrases

The following is a list of notable political catchphrases throughout the history of the United States government.

• "We are all Republicans – we are all federalists", Thomas Jefferson's First Inaugural.^[1]
• "Our Federal Union. It must be preserved", toast famously made by Andrew Jackson during a formal gala commemorating Thomas Jefferson's birthday on April 13, 1830. The toast refers to the secessionist dispute that began during the Nullification Crisis and it became a slogan against nullification in the ensuing political affair.
• "Tippecanoe and Tyler too", popular slogan for Whig party candidates William Henry Harrison and John Tyler in the 1840 U.S. Presidential election.
• "Show me the spot", Abraham Lincoln challenging the alleged incident of invasion by Mexico and loss of life that precipitated the Mexican–American War.^[2]
• "A house divided against itself cannot stand.", opening lines of Abraham Lincoln's famous 1858 "A House Divided" speech, addressing the division between slave states and free states in the United States at the time.
• "Four score and seven years ago...", opening of Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address.^[3]
• "... government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth", ending of Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address.^[3]
• "You shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of thorns. You shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold." William Jennings Bryan in 1896, expressing his opposition to the gold standard.
• "Speak softly, and carry a big stick", Theodore Roosevelt's corollary to the Monroe Doctrine.
• "Smoke-filled room", used to describe the backroom at the Blackstone Hotel where senators gathered to secure Warren G. Harding's nomination during the 1920 Republican National Convention. The term now means a place behind the scenes, where cigar-smoking party bosses make political decisions.^[4]
• "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.", from Franklin D. Roosevelt's first inaugural.^[5]
• "Yesterday, December 7, 1941, a date which will live in infamy." said by President Franklin D. Roosevelt after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.^[6]
• "I shall return." U.S. General Douglas MacArthur after leaving the Philippines.^[7]
• "The buck stops here", paperweight on the desk of Harry Truman.
• "I like Ike", campaign slogan for President Dwight D. Eisenhower.^[8]
• "Clean as a hound's tooth", the standard promised by Republican candidate Dwight D. Eisenhower in the 1952 campaign, which gained attention when Richard Nixon, campaigning for vice president on the same ticket was accused of using campaign funds for personal use.
• "And you know, the kids, like all kids, love the dog and I just want to say this right now, that regardless of what they say about it, we're gonna keep it." - famous line from the Checkers speech delivered by Richard Nixon.
• "Are you now or have you ever been a member of the Communist Party?" infamous question asked by the House Un-American Activities Committee during the height of the Cold War.^[9]
• "Have you no sense of decency, sir? At long last, have you left no sense of decency?", Joseph N. Welch confronts Senator Joe McCarthy in the Army–McCarthy on June 9, 1954.
• "Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country",^[10] part of the Inaugural address of John F. Kennedy.
• "Ich bin ein Berliner", said by John F. Kennedy in West Berlin.
• "I know it when I see it", used by Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart to describe his threshold test for obscenity in Jacobellis v. Ohio (1964).
• "I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue." Said by Barry Goldwater in his acceptance speech at the 1964 Republican National Convention.^[11]
• "Let me say this about that", frequently said by President Richard Nixon.
• "Let me make one thing perfectly clear", frequently said by President Richard Nixon.
• "Only Nixon could go to China", saying that became popular in the wake of Richard Nixon's visit to the People's Republic of China.^[12]
• "What did the President know and when did he know it?", asked by Senator Howard Baker in the Senate Watergate hearings.
• "I'm not a crook", said by Richard Nixon in reference to his never having profited through his government service. (Often misquoted as "I am not a crook.")^[13]
• "You won't have Nixon to kick around anymore", said by Richard Nixon in 1962 when he announced his retirement from politics after losing the 1962 California Governor's election.^[14]
• "Follow the money", popularized by All The President's Men, used in several contexts.
• "Whip inflation now", Gerald Ford's widely ridiculed speech to Congress October 8, 1974.
• "When the president does it, that means that it is not illegal." Said by Richard Nixon during the Frost/Nixon interviews, about his alleged participation in the Watergate scandal cover-up.
• "Voodoo Economics", a term used by George H. W. Bush in reference to President Ronald Reagan's economic policies, which came to be known as "Reaganomics". Before President Bush became Reagan's vice president, he viewed his eventual running mate's economic policies less than favorably. Reagan was a proponent of supply-side economics, favoring reduced income and capital gains tax rates.^[15]
• "There you go again", said by Ronald Reagan about Jimmy Carter during their 1980 presidential debate and was used by Reagan again about Walter Mondale in their 1984 Presidential debate. This quotation was also borrowed by Sarah Palin during the 2008 Vice Presidential Debate against Joe Biden.^[16]
• "Let's make America great again!" Slogan from the Reagan campaign in 1980, also used in 2016 by Donald Trump.
• "Are you better off now than you were four years ago?", question posed by Ronald Reagan at the end of his debate with Jimmy Carter in 1980.
• "I'm from the government, and I'm here to help", said by Ronald Reagan referring to the "most terrifying words in the English language".^[17]
• "In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problems; government is the problem", said by Ronald Reagan.^[18]
• "I don't want to exploit ... my opponent's youth and inexperience", said by Ronald Reagan in the second debate with Walter Mondale, defusing the age issue.
• "It's morning again in America": Ronald Reagan, in reference to the recovering economy and the dominating performance by the U.S. athletes at the Los Angeles Olympics that summer, among other things.^[19]
• "Where's the beef?", said by presidential hopeful and former Democratic Vice President Walter Mondale, when attacking Colorado Senator Gary Hart in a 1984 Democratic primary debate. Mondale meant that Hart was only doing lip service. The phrase was derived from a popular television ad for Wendy's hamburgers.
• "Trust, but verify", used by Ronald Reagan when discussing relations with the Soviet Union.
• "Mistakes were made", said by Ronald Reagan and many others, including Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.^[20]
• "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!", said by Ronald Reagan.^[21]
• "Oh, the vision thing", said by George H. W. Bush, responding to concerns that his campaign lacked a unifying theme.^[22]
• "Read my lips: no new taxes", said by George H. W. Bush during the 1988 U.S. presidential election.^[23] Bush raised taxes later in his presidency.
• Thousand points of light, first used by George H. W. Bush in his speech accepting the presidential nomination at the 1988 Republican National Convention.
• "Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy." Senator Lloyd Bentsen to Senator Dan Quayle in the 1988 Vice Presidential debates.^[24]
• "Vote for the crook. It's important." A bumper sticker slogan urging people to vote for Edwin Edwards over noted white supremacist David Duke in the 1991 Louisiana Governor's election.^[25]
• "I'm Ross, and you're the Boss", said by Ross Perot during the 1992 presidential election.^[26]
• "That Giant sucking sound", said by Ross Perot in 1992 with regards to American jobs going to Mexico if the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) were ratified.
• "I didn't inhale", said by Bill Clinton regarding experimenting with marijuana while attending Oxford University.^[27]
• "It's the economy, stupid" was a phrase in American politics widely used during Bill Clinton's successful 1992 presidential campaign against George H. W. Bush. Widely attributed to Clinton advisor James Carville.^[28] The phrase, although now almost always quoted in its current form, is actually an incorrect quotation: Carville's original slogan, which he first wrote as part of a poster displayed in candidate Clinton's campaign headquarters, was "The Economy, Stupid", with no "It's".^[29]
• "I did not have sexual relations with that woman", said by Bill Clinton regarding Monica Lewinsky.^[30]
• "Vast right-wing conspiracy", used by Hillary Clinton in 1998 in defense of husband President Bill Clinton in reference to the Lewinsky scandal.
• "It depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is." Said by Bill Clinton during testimony regarding his relationship with Monica Lewinsky.^[31]
• "During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet." said by Al Gore during a 1999 CNN interview, and often misquoted as "I invented the Internet."^[32]
• "Fuzzy math", initiated by George W. Bush, and used often by others since.
• "Mission Accomplished" Banner displayed by the USS Abraham Lincoln during a speech by George W. Bush on 1 May 2003, referring to the Iraq War.
• "I actually did vote for the $87 billion, before I voted against it", said by John Kerry regarding funding for the Iraq war, March 16, 2004,^[33] often misquoted as "I was for it before I was against it."
• "There is not a liberal America and a conservative America – there is the United States of America. There is not a Black America and a White America and Latino America and Asian America – there’s the United States of America," said by Barack Obama during his keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National convention.^[34]
• "I'm the decider", said by George W. Bush about the fate of United States Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld in April 2006.^[35]
• "They misunderestimated me." Said by George W. Bush^[36] – Bentonville, Ark., 6 November 2000.
• "It's not a big truck. It's a series of tubes." said by Senator Ted Stevens, describing the Internet and his opposition to Net neutrality ^[37]
• "Yes, we can" used by Barack Obama during the 2008 presidential campaign.
• "The rent is too damn high", a quotation and political platform of Jimmy McMillan in the 2010 New York governor's race.
• "You didn't build that", used by Barack Obama referring to federal infrastructure and used by his opponent's supporters to suggest that he meant there is no individual success in the United States.
• "Binders full of women", used by Mitt Romney during the second U.S. presidential debate of 2012.
• "Drain the Swamp", used by many politicians, including Ronald Reagan,^[38][39] Nancy Pelosi,^[40][41] and Donald Trump.^[42][43]

See also

• List of U.S. presidential campaign slogans
• List of political catchphrases

References

1. Thomas Jefferson, Federalist Papers. Peter S. Onuf. Retrieved 26 May 2008. Archived 12 June 2008 at the Wayback Machine.
2. Frank Moraga (February 8, 2009). "Everybody, let's play nice". Ventura County Star. Retrieved 26 May 2008.
3. Gettysburg Address Abraham Lincoln Civil War Speech. Retrieved 26 May 2008. Archived 11 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine.
4. "Smoke-Filled Room". Electronic Encyclopedia of Chicago. Chicago Historical Society. 2005. Retrieved 2007-05-27.
5. ""Only Thing We Have to Fear Is Fear Itself": FDR's First Inaugural Address". History Matters. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
6. President Franklin Roosevelt Speech For a Declaration of War. Retrieved 26 May 2008.
7. The American Experience | MacArthur | MacArthur's Speeches. Retrieved 26 May 2008.
8. I Like Ike. Retrieved 26 May 2008.
9. Are You Now or Have You Ever? – The New York Times. Retrieved 26 May 2008.
10. John F. Kennedy Inaugural Speech. Retrieved 26 May 2008.
11. Perlstein, Rick (August 2008). "1964 Republican Convention: Revolution From the Right". Smithsonian. Retrieved February 13, 2013.
12. IngentaConnect Why only Nixon could go to China. Retrieved 26 May 2008.
13. The Washington Post. Retrieved 26 May 2008.
14. The History Place – Impeachment: Richard Nixon. Retrieved 26 May 2008.
15. Explaining 'Voodoo Economics'. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
16. American Experience | Jimmy Carter | People & Events. Retrieved 26 May 2008.
17. SEC Speech: Remarks Before the Investment Adviser Association. Retrieved 26 May 2008.
18. UW-Madison College Republicans – Quotes. Retrieved 26 May 2008.
19. "Los Angeles 1984". Swedish Olympic Committee. Retrieved 7 March 2007.
20. A Political Sidestep: 'Mistakes Were Made' : NPR. Retrieved 26 May 2008.
21. Ronald Reagan-Tear Down this Wall. Retrieved 26 May 2008.
22. "Oxford Dictionaries – Dictionary, Thesaurus, & Grammar". Retrieved 12 March 2015.
23. BBC on This Day | 9 | 1988: Bush wins with 'no new taxes' promise. Retrieved 26 May 2008.
24. YouTube – Lloyd Bentsen puts down Dan Quayle. Retrieved 26 May 2008.
26. The Daily Athenaeum Interactive. Retrieved 26 May 2008.
27. The New York Times. Retrieved 26 May 2008.
28. Top 20 Worst Political Slogans. Retrieved 28 December 2010.
29. http://www.nytimes.com/1992/10/31/us/1992-campaign-democrats-clinton-bush-compete-be-champion-change-democrat-fights.html
30. "BBC on this day: 1998: Clinton denies affair with intern". BBC News. 26 January 1998. Retrieved 26 May 2008.
31. Timothy Noah (September 13, 1998). "Bill Clinton and the Meaning of "Is"". Slate. Retrieved February 13, 2013.
32. , Questionable Quotes: Internet of Lies.
33. "Kerry discusses $87 billion comment". CNN. September 30, 2004. Retrieved November 15, 2007.
34. "Barack Obama 2004 Democratic National Convention Keynote Address – American Rhetoric". Retrieved 12 March 2015.
35. CNN News. Retrieved 26 May 2008.
36. "Top Ten Bushisms: The Miseducation of America". Time. 11 January 2009. Retrieved 2 March 2009.
37. Internet "Tubes" Speech Turns Spotlight, Ridicule onto Sen. Stevens, by Liz Ruskin, McClatchy Newspapers, July 15, 2006, Retrieved 26 May 2008.
38. "Reagan still draining the swamp (March 12, 1983)". Chicago Tribune (March 12, 1983). Retrieved November 15, 2016.
39. Garcia, Eric (October 18, 2016). "A History of 'Draining the Swamp'". Roll Call. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
40. Espo, David (October 6, 2006). "Pelosi Says She Would Drain GOP 'Swamp'". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
41. Allison, Bill (November 10, 2016). "Trump Rhetoric Fails to Damp K-Street Hopes of Renaissance". Bloomberg. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
42. Wallach, Philip (November 15, 2016). "What Trump Can Learn From Jimmy Carter's Failure to 'Drain the Swamp'". Fortune. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
43. Harrington, Rebecca (November 11, 2016). "Here's what Trump means when he says 'drain the swamp' — even though it's not an accurate metaphor". Business Insider. Retrieved November 15, 2016.