But, I don't want to assume that our tradition of excellence is a guarantee of future excellence.

Nebraskans are known for giving of themselves and that quality is part of what makes our state such a wonderful place to live, work and raise a family.

The voters reward good performance. So, I'm going to go out and focus, if I become the governor, to do the very best job I can as governor. The rest of it will take care of itself.

I believe education is the great equalizer.

But, I don't want to assume that our tradition of excellence is a guarantee of future excellence.

I am very proud of the quality of public education in Nebraska, but I believe we have an obligation to continually assess whether our system is meeting 21st Century education needs.

I will commit myself to making this state an even greater place to live, work and raise a family. I intend to reach out from border to border to hear first-hand from our citizens about their thoughts, concerns and ideas for our state.

You can expect to find these four priorities - education, economic vitality, efficiency in government and the protection of families - woven into my decisions as Governor. They will serve as my compass as I work with you to chart a future course for our state.

Economic growth is the most important initiative every governor faces.

For most governors, we find the United States Senate or the United States Congress very frustrating at the slow pace in which they act. There doesn't seem to be a lot of discipline and organization to what they do.

I believe Nebraskans appreciate the fiscal discipline I've brought to state government, balancing the budget without raising taxes and prioritizing education funding.

I want to emphasize that I am not opposed to pipelines. We already have hundreds of them in our state. I am opposed to the proposed Keystone XL Pipeline route because it is directly over the Ogallala Aquifer.

I'd rather live in Nebraska than Washington.

I'll get a three-page letter and the last paragraph says 'I know you'll never read this, but here's my number.' I love to call those people because the first thing they say is, 'Governor, I didn't mean everything I said in the letter about you.'

I'm very, very concerned ultimately, as Medicaid costs increase in my state and most states, it's going to reduce funding for state aid to our public schools, to our higher education institution or higher taxes on the middle class that President Obama said he didn't want to do. And that's exactly where he's headed.

Nebraskans have very strong opinions, but we sit down around a table and we solve our problems.

The American people are opposed to ObamaCare. They were when the law passed; they're still opposed to it. But the fact of the matter is it's got to be implemented. We're trying to do our part even here in Nebraska. It's very, very difficult.

Ultimately, we have to decide, with the Legislature: Are we willing to take some bold steps to make us even more competitive in the future, competing in a global economy? I think Nebraskans are willing to listen to that discussion. They want an opportunity for their kids and grandkids to live here.

Productivity is never an accident. It is always the result of a commitment to excellence, intelligent planning, and focused effort.

Excellence is the unlimited ability to improve the quality of what you have to offer.

Poetry is an art, the easiest to dabble in, but the hardest to reach true excellence.

As a preacher of the Gospel, our late venerable Bishop must have been heard, to form an adequate conception of his superior excellence and commanding eloquence.

Excellence is to do a common thing in an uncommon way.

It is my sincere hope that hospitals across Indiana, and America, continue to strive for excellence when it comes to providing medical care. This proposed rule will be harmful to communities who wish to upgrade their medical facilities.

Some people have greatness thrust upon them. Very few have excellence thrust upon them.

When a book raises your spirit, and inspires you with noble and manly thoughts, seek for no other test of its excellence. It is good, and made by a good workman.

I mentioned the non-competitive spirit explicitly, because these days, excellence is a fashionable concept. But excellence is a competitive notion, and that is not what we are heading for: we are heading for perfection.

Excellence is a process that should occupy all our days.

It is the characteristic excellence of the strong man that he can bring momentous issues to the fore and make a decision about them. The weak are always forced to decide between alternatives they have not chosen themselves.

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.

Therefore let men withdraw themselves from errors; and laying aside corrupt superstitions, let them acknowledge their Father and Lord, whose excellence cannot be estimated, nor His greatness perceived, nor His beginning comprehended.

What we do is look for high standards of excellence in the arts.

Simplicity in character, in manners, in style; in all things the supreme excellence is simplicity.

I've spent my life pursing excellence as an artist, which is what I always wanted to do anyhow.

We're thrilled to expand our relationship, knowing that with the great team at the Music Group, Word, and Warner Bros., and with their proven record of excellence, we're looking ahead to an even brighter future for Curb.

The secret of joy in work is contained in one word - excellence. To know how to do something well is to enjoy it.

Dullness in matters of government is a good sign, and not a bad one - in particular, dullness in parliamentary government is a test of its excellence, an indication of its success.

My philosophy all my life has been the pursuit of excellence.

Excellence is not a skill. It is an attitude.

The noblest search is the search for excellence.

The test of the artist does not lie in the will with which he goes to work, but in the excellence of the work he produces.

Badness you can get easily, in quantity; the road is smooth, and it lies close by, But in front of excellence the immortal gods have put sweat, and long and steep is the way to it.

Perfection has to do with the end product, but excellence has to do with the process.

Excellence, then, is a state concerned with choice, lying in a mean, relative to us, this being determined by reason and in the way in which the man of practical wisdom would determine it.

The true spirit of delight, the exaltation, the sense of being more than Man, which is the touchstone of the highest excellence, is to be found in mathematics as surely as poetry.

There is no surer mark of the absence of the highest moral and intellectual qualities than a cold reception of excellence.

Such discussions help us very little to enjoy what has been well done in art or poetry, to discriminate between what is more and what is less excellent in them, or to use words like beauty, excellence, art, poetry, with a more precise meaning than they would otherwise have.

You've just got to focus on excellence and try not to be distracted by the news and the rumors and the absurdities of the stories that were coming out.

Excellence is the gradual result of always striving to do better.