Adlai Stevenson

II (1900-1965)

• During his 1956 presidential campaign, a woman called out to him, "You have the vote of every thinking person!" Stevenson called back, "That's not enough, madam, we need a majority!"
• "You are in the courtroom of world opinion…. You have denied they exist, and I want to know if I understood you correctly…. I am prepared to wait for my answer until hell freezes over. And I am also prepared to present the evidence in this room!" (to Soviet U.N. Ambassador V. Zorin during the Cuban Missile Crisis)
• "You will find that the truth is often unpopular and the contest between agreeable fancy and disagreeable fact is unequal. For, in this vernacular, we Americans are suckers for good news."
• "In America, anyone can become president and I suppose that's just one of the risks you take."
• "A free society is one where it is safe to be unpopular."
• "It is often easier to fight for principles than to live up to them."
• "There was a time when a fool and his money were soon parted, but now it happens to everybody."
• "She would rather light candles than curse the darkness, and her glow has warmed the world." (speaking about Eleanor Roosevelt)