I don't know how smart I am. I just try to be what I am. I hope I'm modest. I think that's a desirable trait.

I've always tried to set some kind of goal. I want to be better than anybody in the banking business, and when I ran the Highway Department in Georgia, I wanted it to be the best in the country. And of course, I have a high sense of public service.

I happen to truly believe this: Success is a journey and not a destination.

It's never easy to say you're sorry.

Jesse Jackson is not anti-Semitic, but in politics, you always get in trouble when you try to be cute.

Some people just decide they won't vote for you, but it doesn't have to be all negative.

In politics, you have to understand that there are some cases where you'll never be able to get votes.

If you have a situation where you need help, it doesn't make any difference where it comes from.

If the house is on fire, and the fireman shows up, you don't question his color or credentials. You don't send him back to the firehouse and say, 'Send somebody else.'

I've always believed that if you had a fellow who works 150 percent of the time, he's going to beat a fellow who works something less than that.