Democracy is a fragile institution.

There are some things the general public does not need to know and shouldn't. I believe democracy flourishes when the government can take legitimate steps to keep its secrets, and when the press can decide whether to print what it knows.

There's democracy in India and South Africa. We have to put the spotlight on those places that demonstrate if you're willing to work hard and sustain the effort through the disappointment of failure... but if you have people willing to sustain the effort, people who believe humanity has a good side, you can make it work.

I must say the Senator's victory in Wisconsin was a triumph for democracy. It proves that a millionaire has just as good a chance as anyone else. [on JFK's electoral victory]

I don't think you can sell democracy at the point of an M-16. We're just trying to force it down their throats.

In Switzerland they had brotherly love, five hundred years of democracy and peace, and what did they produce? The cuckoo clock!