48 Inspirational Bill Clinton Quotes [2024]

Updated: January 20th, 2022

Bill Clinton is an American politician and attorney who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001.

Clinton has presided over the longest period of peacetime economic expansion in American history. As a member of the Democratic Party, Clinton was famously known as a New Democrat. He has also served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981.

We've put together an incredible collection of Bill Clinton quotes to read.

Here they are:

48 Inspirational Bill Clinton Quotes [2024]

List of Inspiring Bill Clinton Quotes

Sometimes when people are under stress, they hate to think, and it’s the time when they most need to think."


Being President is like being the groundskeeper in a cemetery there are a lot of people under you, but none of them are listening."


All America loses when any person is denied or forced out of a job because of sexual orientation. "


Being gay, the last time I thought about it, seemed to have nothing to do with the ability to read a balance book, fix a broken bone, or change a spark plug."


Character is a journey, not a destination."


Nothing big ever came from being small."


Nobody’s right all the time, and a broken clock is right twice a day. We’re compelled to spend our fleeting lives between those two extremes, knowing we’re never going to be right all the time and hoping we’re right more than twice a day."


If you live long enough, you'll make mistakes. But if you learn from them, you'll be a better person."


Surrounding yourself with sycophants and bootlickers is the surest route to failure."


Let us all take more responsibility not only for ourselves and our families but for our communities and our country."


You have to make a conscious decision to change for your own well-being, and that of your family and your country."


If you want to have a good life you have to have some constructive outlet for your feelings."


Strength and wisdom are not opposing values."


Work is about more than making a living, as vital as that is. It's fundamental to human dignity, to our sense of self-worth as useful, independent, free people."


Mental illness is nothing to be ashamed of, but stigma and bias shame us all."


We must teach our children to resolve their conflicts with words, not weapons."


When times are tough, constant conflict may be good politics but in the real world, cooperation works better."


The road to tyranny, we must never forget, begins with the destruction of the truth."


It's how you handle adversity, not how it affects you. The main thing is never quit, never quit, never quit."


Promising too much can be as cruel as caring too little."


Healthy skepticism is good. It saves us from being too naive or too cynical."


I did not run for this job just to warm the seat. I desperately want to make a difference."


It depends upon what the meaning of the word ‘is’ is."


It’s heartbreaking to see so many people trapped in a web of enforced idleness, deep debt, and gnawing self-doubt."


I still believe in a place called Hope."


In the new economy, information, education and motivation are everything."


In today's knowledge-based economy, what you earn depends on what you learn."


A man you can bait with a tweet is not a man we can trust with nuclear weapons."


May those generations whose faces we cannot yet see, whose names we may never know, say of us here that we led our beloved land into a new century with the American dream alive."


Let me say this as clearly as I can: No matter how sharp a grievance or how deep a hurt, there is no justification for killing innocents."


The media knows what sells—conflict and division. It’s also quick and easy. All too often anger works better than answers; resentment better than reason; emotion trumps evidence."


If one candidate is appealing to your fears, and the other one’s appealing to your hopes, you’d better vote for the person who wants you to think and hope!"


Freedom is difficult, but we have never had to put a wall up to keep the people in."


The real differences are between those who embrace peace and those who would destroy it. Between those who look to the future and those who cling to the past."


If you want to live like a Republican, vote like a Democrat."


Our democracy must be not only the envy of the world but the engine of our own renewal."


People the world over have always been more impressed by the power of our example than by the example of our power."


That’s the permanent mission our Founding Fathers left us—moving toward the “more perfect union.”"


There were a lot of times when we were alone, but I never really thought we were."


There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured by what is right with America."


We’ve got to get America back in the future business."


I may not have been the greatest president, but I’ve had the most fun eight years."


As powerful as our memories are, our dreams must be even stronger. For when our memories outweigh our dreams, we become old."


We cannot build our own future without helping others to build theirs."


We all do better when we work together. Our differences do matter, but our common humanity matters more."


Part of our essential humanity is paying respect to what God gave us and what will be here a long time after we're gone."


A man is more than the sum of all the things he can do."


You can put wings on a pig, but that doesn't make it an eagle."

meet the author
Pat Walls

I'm Pat Walls and I created Starter Story - a website dedicated to helping people start businesses. We interview entrepreneurs from around the world about how they started and grew their businesses.