Richard Nixon actually said...
It has always been America's pride, and the source of much of our strength, that we have constantly reached out toward new horizons in the search for knowledge--not from a chauvinistic desire to be number one, but from the conviction that we must continue to develop the countless new benefits that flow from exploration of the unknown.
Context
Statement About Senate Action Disapproving Funds for the Supersonic Transport Program
03/23/1971