"Politicians are a lot like diapers. They should be changed frequently, and for the same reasons."—Tom Dobbs (Robin Williams)

"All the world's great civilizations have followed the same path. From bondage to liberty, from liberty to abundance, from abundance to complacency, from complacency to apathy, from apathy back to bondage. If we are to be the exception to history, then we must break the cycle, for those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it."—Molly Johnson (Madeline Carroll)

"America isn't easy. America is advanced citizenship. You gotta want it bad, 'cause it's gonna put up a fight. It's gonna say, 'You want free speech? Let's see you acknowledge a man whose words make your blood boil, who's standing center stage and advocating at the top of his lungs that which you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours. You want to claim this land as the land of the free? Then the symbol of your country can't just be a flag; the symbol also has to be one of its citizens exercising his right to burn that flag in protest.' Show me that, defend that, celebrate that in your classrooms. Then, you can stand up and sing about the 'land of the free.'"—President Andrew Shepherd (Michael Douglas)

"I got news for you about both politics and life.May I say, the two are exactly the same. There are no ends, only means."—President Art Hockstader (Lee Tracy)

"The reason that Iran-Contra happened is because nobody did anything substantial about Watergate. And the reason that Watergate happened is that there were no consequences from the Bay of Pigs. They are all the same operatives, didn't you notice? The foot soldiers in the Bay of Pigs, the plumbers that got busted at Watergate, the gunrunners in Iran contra: they are all the same people. The same faces. Now it doesn't take a genius to make the connection here. A secret government beyond the control of the people and accountable to no-one. And the closer we are to discovering the connection, the more the Congress turns a blind eye to it. 'We can't talk about that in open session!,' they say. 'National security reasons.' The truth lies dormant in their laps and they stay blind out of choice. A conspiracy of silence."—Bugs Raglin (Giancarlo Esposito)

Joanne Herring (Julia Roberts):"Why is Congress saying one thing and doing nothing?"Charlie Wilson (Tom Hanks):"Well, tradition mostly."

"Who do you think is running Congress? Farmers? Engineers? Teachers? Businessmen? No, my friends. Congress is run by lawyers. A lawyer is trained for two things and two things only. To clarify — that's one. And to confuse-that's the other. He does whichever is to his client's advantage. Did you ever ask a lawyer the time of day? He told you how to make a watch, didn't he? Ever ask a lawyer how to get to Mr. Jones' house in the country? You got lost, didn't you? Congress is composed of five hundred and thirty-five individuals. Two hundred and eighty-eight are lawyers. And you wonder what's wrong in Congress. No wonder we often know how to make a watch, but we don't know the time of day."—Thomas Hal Phillips (Hal Phillip Walker)

Kay Thorndyke (Angela Landsbury):"But there is one question on his mind you better have the answer to."Jim Conover (Adolphe Menjou):"What's that?"Kay Thorndyke: "He's beginning to wonder if there is any difference between the Democratic Party and the Republican Party."Jim Conover: "Now that's a fine question for a presidential candidate to ask. There's all the difference in the world. They're in and we're out!"

"Who cares about this stupid election? We all know it doesn't matter who gets elected president of Carver. Do you really think it's going to change anything around here; make one single person smarter or happier or nicer? The only person it does matter to is the one who gets elected. The same pathetic charade happens every year, and everyone makes the same pathetic promises just so they can put it on their transcripts to get into college. So vote for me, because I don't even want to go to college, and I don't care, and as president I won't do anything. The only promise I will make is that if elected I will immediately dismantle the student government, so that none of us will ever have to sit through one of these stupid assemblies again!"—Tammy Meltzer (Jessica Campbell)

"You know they're all kids in Washington? It's like Bugsy Malone, but with real guns."—Judy Molloy (Gina McKee)

"You know as well as I do, that plenty of people playing this game, they don't think that way. They're willing to sell their souls, crawl through sewers, lie to people, divide them, play on their worst fears for nothing! Just for the prize."—Governor Jack Stanton (John Travolta)

"Always remember: others may hate you. But those who hate you don't win unless you hate them. And then you destroy yourself."—Richard M. Nixon (Anthony Hopkins)

"If it wasn't for graft, you'd get a very low type of people in politics, men without ambition, jellyfish!"—Skeeters, "The Politician" (William Demarest)

"We must never kneel down before the tyranny of a majority."—Jurnee Smollett (Samantha Booke)

"Just get up off the ground, that's all I ask. Get up there with that lady that's up on top of this Capitol dome, that lady that stands for liberty. Take a look at this country through her eyes if you really want to see something. And you won't just see scenery; you'll see the whole parade of what Man's carved out for himself, after centuries of fighting. Fighting for something better than just jungle law, fighting so's he can stand on his own two feet, free and decent, like he was created, no matter what his race, color, or creed. That's what you'd see. There's no place out there for graft, or greed, or lies, or compromise with human liberties. And, uh, if that's what the grownups have done with this world that was given to them, then we'd better get those boys' camps started fast and see what the kids can do. And it's not too late, because this country is bigger than the Taylors, or you, or me, or anything else. Great principles don't get lost once they come to light. They're right here; you just have to see them again!"—Jefferson Smith (James Stewart)

"If you want real political power, try telling the truth for a change."—Harvey Milk (Sean Penn)

Joey Naylor (Cameron Bright):"Dad, why is the American government the best government?"Nick Naylor (Aaron Eckhart):"Because of our endless appeals system."Joey: "Dad, come on. I have to give an oral report on why the American government is the best government."Nick: "Joey, that is a bulls*** report. There is no best government. There is no measure by which we determine which government is the best. The American government may be the most entertaining, but it is not the best."

"And, Mr. Chairman, I stand for the separation of Church and State, and the reason that I stand for that is the same reason that I believe our forefathers did. It is not there to protect religion from the grasp of government but to protect our government from the grasp of religious fanaticism. Now, I may be an atheist, but that does not mean I do not go to church. I do go to church. The church I go to is the one that emancipated the slaves, that gave women the right to vote, that gave us every freedom that we hold dear. My church is this very Chapel of Democracy that we sit in together, and I do not need God to tell me what are my moral absolutes. I need my heart, my brain, and this church."—Senator Laine Hanson (Joan Allen)

"His brain has not only been washed, as they say, it's been dry-cleaned."—Dr. Yen Lo (Khigh Dhiegh)