"I stand before you as the governor of Texas but also stand before you the son of two tenant farmers. Ray Perry who came home after 35 bombing missions over Europe to work his little corner of land out there and Amelia who made sure that my sister Milla and I had everything that we needed, included hand sewing my clothes until I went off to college."

"But it wasn't until I graduated from Texas A &amp M University and joined the United States Air Force, flying C-130's all around the globe, that I truly appreciated the blessings of freedom."

"America's greatness is not found in the size of its government. America's greatness resides in the hearts and the minds of the people."

"It is through states that the American people get the job done every day, often in spite of a deeply flawed bureaucratic federal government."

"The paradox of freedom is that the echo of our deeds ripples through eternity."

"What creates freedom? A revolution in the streets? Mass protest? Civil war? A change of government? The ousting of the old guard and its replacement by the new? History, more often than not, shows that hopes raised by such events are often dashed, sooner rather than later."

"I am just absolutely convinced that the best formula for giving us peace and preserving the American way of life is freedom, limited government, and minding our own business overseas."

"Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves."