Political Quotes

“First of all, we have a lot of conservatives who do not like foreign aid. And anything that reeks of the U.N. is tainted and that involves us overseas, and we ought not to get into those sort of entanglements. So we have a mountain to climb on our side to get enough people to support this. After all, this pays our U.N. arrearages, not perhaps in the manner in which the Democrats would like it paid, but it is $819 million plus $107 million in debt forgiveness over 3 years. That certainly beats where we are now, with zero. So if you think our membership in the U.N. is useful, I would think this is the best opportunity to get caught up on the arrearages. I have always had a couple of fantasies about the U.N. One is I would like to move it from New York to Beijing. I think that would be a wonderful headquarters. We have had the glory of the U.N. being in New York and avoiding and evading our parking tickets. Let us give the rest of the world a chance at it. But I do not decry the U.N. I think it is useful. I think we should belong to it. I think we are a world leader, and we should lead in the U.N. And so if we belong to it, we should pay our dues, and this is a medium by which we pay our dues.”