Presidential Debate Quotes

• The first presidential debate was down in Florida. Residents spent all day putting plywood on their televisions.

  David Letterman

  Florida, Presidential, Television

  6 Copy quote

• I want you to know that also I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent's youth and inexperience.

  Ronald Reagan

  Funny, Issues, Political

  Ronald Reagan (2004). “The uncommon wisdom of Ronald Reagan: a portrait in his own words”

  87 Copy quote

  Show source

• If you want something said, ask a man. If you want something done, ask a woman.

  Margaret Thatcher

  Inspirational, Funny, Wise

  "Biography/ Personal Quotes". www.imdb.com.

  130 Copy quote

  Show source

• A presidential debate is a job interview. And voters look for certain traits in people applying to be president.

  Ron Fournier

  Jobs, People, Presidential

  4 Copy quote

• You mentioned the Navy, for example, and that we have fewer ships than we did in 1916. Well, Governor, we also have fewer horses and bayonets because the nature of our military has changed. We have these things called aircraft carriers where planes land on them. We have these ships that go underwater, nuclear submarines.

  Barack Obama

  Horse, Military, Land

  Barack Obama's remarks in the Third Presidential Debate at the Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida, obamawhitehouse.archives.gov. October 23, 2012.

  9 Copy quote

  Show source

• I went to a number of women's groups and said, "Can you help us find folks," and they brought us whole binders full of women.

  Mitt Romney

  Stupid People, Numbers, Groups

  Second presidential debate between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y, www.foxnews.com. October 16, 2012.

  18 Copy quote

  Show source

• Marco Rubio hit my hands. Nobody has ever hit my hands. I've never heard of this. What - look at those hands. Are they small hands? And he referred to my hands - if they're small, something else must be small. I guarantee you, there's no problem. I guarantee you.

  Donald Trump

  Hands, Looks, Guarantees

  Source: www.truth-out.org

  6 Copy quote

  Show source

• Margaret Thatcher once said, "If you want something talked about, ask a man; if you want something done, ask a woman."

  Carly Fiorina

  Men, Want Something, Done

  Source: cnnpressroom.blogs.cnn.com

  25 Copy quote

  Show source

• Well, Governor, we also have fewer horses and bayonets.

  Barack Obama

  Horse, Bayonets, Aircraft Carriers

  Third presidential debate between President Obama and Republican nominee Mitt Romney in Boca Raton, Fla., www.npr.org. October 22, 2012.

  86 Copy quote

  Show source

• If you want something done, ask a busy person.

  Benjamin Franklin

  Strong Women, Want Something, Iron

  49 Copy quote

• There is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe.

  Gerald R. Ford

  Europe, Domination, Eastern

  Televised presidential debate, 6 Oct. 1976

  20 Copy quote

  Show source

• We are creating a political demolition derby, not a presidential debate. Those strange impulses in the American soul that have produced mud wrestling and The Gong Show seem to have claimed the national campaign.

  Hugh Sidey

  Wrestling, Creating, Presidential

  4 Copy quote

• I would say it's more important who the treasury secretary is than who the vice president is. If you want to have a debate here, I'd like a debate between potential treasury secretaries than the vice presidential debate.

  Warren Buffett

  Presidential, Important, Vices

  "Warren Buffett: I Haven't Seen As Much Economic Fear In My Adult Lifetime". Interview With Charlie Rose, www.cnbc.com. October 1, 2008.

  7 Copy quote

  Show source

• The debate corporation is a corporation. It's funded by corporations. It's relayed by media corporations to the public. It's created by the two parties, which are corporations. We should have public presidential debates all over America run by public institutions.

  Ralph Nader

  Running, Party, Media

  Source: www.democracynow.org

  5 Copy quote

  Show source

• The Commission on Presidential Debates must be replaced if we want to have a democracy in this country.

  John B. Anderson

  Country, Presidential, Democracy

  4 Copy quote

• A little tough talk in the midst of a campaign or as part of a presidential debate cannot obscure a record of 30 years of being on the wrong side of defense issues.

  Dick Cheney

  Years, Issues, Presidential

  Dick Cheney at Vice President Debate at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, www.cnn.com. October 7, 2004.

  8 Copy quote

  Show source

• Democracy needs to start with an open Presidential debate. So come on out and let's take back the promise of our democracy.

  Jill Stein

  Presidential, Promise, Democracy

  Source: www.cpa-connecticut.com

  4 Copy quote

  Show source

• I believe an invitation from the Commission on Presidential Debates is similar to a draft notice - a civic responsibility.

  Jim Lehrer

  Believe, Responsibility, Presidential

  7 Copy quote

• Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz did their best Donald Trump impersonation. All three unleashing an unprecedented string of insults and attacks fit more for a barroom than a presidential debate stage.

  Chris Hayes

  Presidential, Three, Insult

  Source: www.msnbc.com

  4 Copy quote

  Show source

• It's time to override this fraud being committed on the American voter of the two-party tyranny of this private corporation of the Commission on Presidential Debates.

  Jill Stein

  Party, Two, Presidential

  Source: www.cpa-connecticut.com

  4 Copy quote

  Show source

• Traditionally vice presidential debates don't move the needle one way or the other. They have largely been irrelevant and inconsequential.

  Donald Trump

  Moving, Presidential, Vices

  Source: www.rushlimbaugh.com

  4 Copy quote

  Show source

• I don't expect us to cover all the issues of this campaign [2016] tonight, but I remind everyone, there are two more presidential debates scheduled. We are going to focus on many of the issues that voters tell us are most important, and we're going to press for specifics.

  Lester Holt

  Two, Issues, Focus

  Source: time.com

  4 Copy quote

  Show source

• The threshold by the Commission on Presidential Debates. In the words of the League of Women Voters, they are a fraud being perpetrated on the American public.

  Jill Stein

  League, Presidential, Voters

  "Off Message" with Glenn Thrush, www.politico.com. September 19, 2016.

  14 Copy quote

  Show source

• Last night's vice presidential debate between Joe Biden and Sarah Palin drew much higher ratings than the presidential debate. Did you know that? Yeah. Yeah, Biden attracted viewers who enjoyed his previous debate appearances, and Palin attracted viewers who enjoyed the movie 'Fargo.'

  Conan O'Brien

  Night, Presidential, Biden

  4 Copy quote

• As someone who is in awe and grateful every day to be in a country where freedom of the press, free speech and free elections are a way of life, I am wowed, amazed and excited by the opportunity to moderate a 2012 presidential debate.

  Candy Crowley

  Country, Grateful, Opportunity

  "CNN's Candy Crowley Will Be First Woman in 20 Years to Moderate a Presidential Debate" by Marisa Guthrie, www.hollywoodreporter.com. August 13, 2012.

  4 Copy quote

  Show source