The lesson of the last year is this: foreign policy can’t be managed through the politics of personality, and our President would do well to take note of an observation John F. Kennedy made once he was in office – that all of the world’s problems aren’t his predecessor’s fault.

For a season, a gifted speaker can inspire with his words, but for a lifetime John McCain has inspired with his deeds.

Well, I’m not a member of the permanent political establishment, and I’ve learned quickly these last few days that if you’re not a member in good standing of the Washington elite, then some in the media consider a candidate unqualified for that reason alone.

To win this war, we need a commander in chief, not a professor of law standing at the lectern.

To reduce deficit spending and our enormous debt, you reign in spending. You cut the budget. You don’t take more from the private sector and grow government with it. And that’s exactly what Obama has in mind with this expiration of Bush tax cuts proposal of his.

I am a conservative Republican, a firm believer in free market capitalism. A free market system allows all parties to compete, which ensures the best and most competitive project emerges, and ensures a fair, democratic process.

Here’s a little newsflash for those reporters and commentators: I’m not going to Washington to seek their good opinion. I’m going to Washington to serve this great country.

The only place that the left hasn’t placed the blame is on their agenda, so some advice for our friends on that side of the aisle: that’s where you’ve gotta look because that’s what got you into this mess.

When we talk about fighting for our country, we’re talking about our vote, our vote is our arms.

America’s finest – our men and women in uniform, are a force for good throughout the world, and that is nothing to apologize for.

The lesson of the last year is this: foreign policy can’t be managed through the politics of personality, and our President would do well to take note of an observation John F. Kennedy made once he was in office – that all of the world’s problems aren’t his predecessor’s fault.

We need a foreign policy that distinguishes America’s friends from her enemies, and recognizes the true threats that we face.

The Republican Party would be really smart to absorb as much of the Tea Party movement as possible.

The administration says, then, there are no downsides or upsides to treating terrorists like civilian criminal defendants, but a lot of us would beg to differ.

New terms used like, ‘overseas contingency operation’ instead of the word ‘war’ – that reflects a worldview that is out of touch with the enemy that we face. We can’t spin our way out of this threat.

We need leaders who will stand up for the little guy and listen once again.

Despite what the pundits want us to think, contested primaries aren’t civil war, they are democracy at work, and that’s beautiful.

Common sense tells us that the government’s attempts to solve large problems more often create new ones. Common sense also tells us that a top-down, one-size-fits-all plan will not improve the workings of a nationwide health-care system that accounts for one-sixth of our economy.

I think President Obama is trying to deceive the public in pretending that he was not a part of Congress that has made some decisions in the past that got us to where we are today.

I’m pro-life. I’ll do all I can to see every baby is created with a future and potential. The legislature should do all it can to protect human life.

They think that, if we were just smart enough, we’d be able to understand their policies. And I so want to tell ’em, and I do tell ’em, Oh, we’re plenty smart, oh yeah – we know what’s goin’ on. And we don’t like what’s goin’ on. And we’re not gonna let them tell us to sit down and shut up.

When oil and gas prices went up dramatically and filled up the state treasury, I sent a large share of that revenue back where it belonged – directly to the people of Alaska.

Americans expect us to go to Washington for the right reason, and not just to mingle with the right people.

Assange is not a ‘journalist’ any more than the ‘editor’ of al-Qaeda’s new English-language magazine ‘Inspire’ is a ‘journalist.’ He is an anti-American operative with blood on his hands.

Buck up or stay in the truck.

I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a community organizer, except that you have actual responsibilities.

We don’t need to fundamentally transform America. We need to restore America.

We eat, therefore we hunt.

Our government needs to adopt a pro-market agenda that doesn’t pick winners and losers, but it invites competition and it levels the playing field for everyone.

We need American sources of resources, we need American energy, brought to you by American ingenuity and produced by American workers.

A changing environment will affect Alaska more than any other state, because of our location. I’m not one though who would attribute it to being man-made.

We need independents, we need the GOP, we need Reagan Democrats.

America is looking for answers. She’s looking for a new direction; the world is looking for a light. That light can come from America’s great North Star; it can come from Alaska.

Sometimes even the greatest joys bring challenge, and children with special needs inspire a very, very special love.

The fact that drilling won’t solve every problem is no excuse to do nothing at all.

In politics there are some candidates who use change to promote their careers, and then there are those like John McCain who use their careers to promote change.

I love those hockey moms. You know what they say the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull is? Lipstick.

Politics isn’t just a game of clashing parties and competing interests. The right reason is to challenge the status quo, to serve the common good, and to leave this nation better than we found it.

People know something has gone terribly wrong with our government and it has gotten so far off track. But people also know that there is nothing wrong in America that a good old-fashioned election can’t fix.

We tend to prefer candidates that don’t talk about us one way in Scranton and another way in San Francisco.

People have a constitutional right to burn a Koran if they want to, but doing so is insensitive and an unnecessary provocation – much like building a mosque at Ground Zero.

Each of us knows that we have an obligation to care for the old, the young and the sick. We stand strongest when we stand with the weakest among us.

I’m just one of many moms who will say an extra prayer each night for our sons and daughters going into harm’s way.

To the families of special needs children all across this country I have a message for you: for years you have sought to make America a more welcoming place for your sons and daughters, and I pledge to you that if we’re elected, you will have a friend, an advocate, in The White House.

My fellow citizens, the American Presidency is not supposed to be a journey of personal discovery.

I came to office promising major ethics reform to end the culture of self-dealing. And today, that ethics reform is a law. While I was at it, I got rid of a few things in the governor’s office that I didn’t believe our citizens should have to pay for. That luxury jet was over-the-top. I put it on eBay.

Washington has got to, across the board, lower taxes for small businesses so that our mom and pops can reinvest and hire people, so that our businesses can thrive.