As governor, I learned the importance of having an agenda.

I think we've got outstanding teaching in Michigan classrooms.

The greatest luck that I've had has been the ability to find men and women who came into my administration who worked with me and brought extraordinary talents that we were able to take full advantage of.

Manufacturers account for nearly 60 percent of all industrial research and development.

I've been in the legislative branch and now the executive branch and in each case I felt it was important we use our constitutional responsibilities to the fullest.

I'm very pleased with the job President Bush is doing and he's off to a terrific start.

The parent knows instinctively that if they're working and setting an example for their child that means that child is more likely to be in school, more likely to stay out of trouble and more likely to complete their education.

I've gone from being one of the youngest governors to now the longest consecutive serving governor in the country.

Believe me, I'm not going to try to get into testing.

I had made a decision early on that we were going to do the right things and that if they worked we were going to be very successful. And if for some reason they didn't, all the claims and the protestations and the excuses wouldn't make any difference.

All 50 states had the same national economy. And on virtually any measurement you wish to look at, Michigan has moved up and improved against the others.

I don't put labels on myself.

I wish we could have acted quicker on Detroit or other failing schools.

We didn't pass any constitutional amendments that affected the executive branch while I was governor.

As governor, I learned the importance of having an agenda.

Given the professionalism of Michigan teachers, I think they're not teaching because of the financial rewards.

Nobody gets any guarantees.

I expect my next job to be outside government.

I created no authority that wasn't already there under the constitution.

Redistricting is one of the purest actions a legislative body can take.

The Clean Michigan Initiative has been and continues to be a success.

And there should not be a limit on the creation of new public schools. We ought to expand choices for parents.

I care about the children of Detroit.

The asbestos problem impacts everyone.

Sometimes it is better to begin the journey, to get under way, then it is to sit back and wait until such time that you're convinced that all conditions are perfect and that there'll be no surprises along the route.

While America's infrastructure needs are substantial, there is no reason to delay completion of the highway bill. Every day of delay means jobs lost, investment opportunities missed and growth sacrificed.

I have an old saying that the harder I work, the luckier I get.

You win by working hard, making tough decisions and building coalitions.

We have broken the cycle of dependency. People have found out they're better off working.

Very few charter schools are being created in some of the best school districts in the state. If you're an educational innovator, that isn't where the greatest need is.

Despite these hurdles, manufacturers in the U.S. and their employees are doing remarkable work.

I just have a position that any child that's in a failing school should be able to get out, or be in a position to have that school fixed.

I'm a compassionate conservative.

As you look around the country there are still a significant number of states where their whole school debate is over school funding and we've been focused on the quality debate for most of the '90s.

Michigan is also the only industrial state that has a AAA credit rating.

The current Michigan Constitution was written in 1961 and '62.

I kept telling everyone I wasn't going to Washington to stay. I go to visit.

Manufacturers employ more than 14 million Americans doing what Americans do best, making things, building things, transforming raw materials into finished products.

It is not who is right, but what is right, that is of importance.

The sanctity of our battlefields, monuments, and veterans institutions is of utmost importance to preserve military history and pay respect to those who fought.

Research is of considerable importance in certain fields, such as science and history.

The education of my brother and myself was of paramount importance to my parents, and in addition to their strong encouragement, they were prepared to make any sacrifice to further our intellectual development.

What I have learned from my work up to now, is to try to be open, but also protect myself by not letting the good and the evil get too much importance.

While I recognize the great value and importance of prescription drugs and strongly support a continued U.S. focus on pharmaceutical research and development, our nation's seniors cannot be asked to subsidize the drug costs of other wealthy industrialized nations any longer.

It is seldom in life that one knows that a coming event is to be of crucial importance.

Similarly, the problem of the rights of the state in the disposition of inheritances left by individuals presents social aspects of the first importance.

The best thing about lying in bed late is that you learn to distinguish between first things and trivia, for whatever presses on you has to prove its importance before it makes you move.

My object will be, first, to show by what connections the history of the fossil bones of land animals is linked to the theory of the earth and why they have a particular importance in this respect.

Absent scandal, a federal judge can serve for decades on the bench, underscoring the importance of appointing judges who have a proper understanding of their constitutional role.