Bill Clinton Quotes: 18 Famous Sayings By 42nd President On His Birthday

Sunday marks the 72nd birthday of William J. Clinton, the 42nd and second-youngest president ever to be elected in the history of United States.

Clinton was born on Aug. 19, 1946, in Hope, Arkansas. At just 46 years of age, Clinton took office in 1993 and served till 2001. His term was a roller coaster ride.

While he created 22 million new jobs, signed vital acts and agreements like the Family and Medical Leave, The Violence Against Women, the North American Free Trade and deactivated 1,700 nuclear warheads from the former Soviet Union, he also almost got impeached for perjury and obstruction of justice and coining the infamous policy “Don’t ask, don’t tell” in an attempt to conceal the identities of LGBT members of the military.

To celebrate his birthday, here are some of his best sayings, ranging from inspirational to hilarious, collected from Brainy Quote:

“Work is about more than making a living, as vital as that is. It's fundamental to human dignity, to our sense of self-worth as useful, independent, free people.”

“It turns out that advancing equal opportunity and economic empowerment is both morally right and good economics, because discrimination, poverty and ignorance restrict growth, while investments in education, infrastructure and scientific and technological research increase it, creating more good jobs and new wealth for all of us.”

“If you live long enough, you'll make mistakes. But if you learn from them, you'll be a better person. It's how you handle adversity, not how it affects you. The main thing is never quit, never quit, never quit.”

“When times are tough, constant conflict may be good politics but in the real world, cooperation works better. After all, nobody's right all the time, and a broken clock is right twice a day.”

“Character is a journey, not a destination.”

“Sometimes when people are under stress, they hate to think, and it's the time when they most need to think.”

“It turns out that advancing equal opportunity and economic empowerment is both morally right and good economics, because discrimination, poverty and ignorance restrict growth, while investments in education, infrastructure and scientific and technological research increase it, creating more good jobs and new wealth for all of us.”

“There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured with what is right in America.”

“We must teach our children to resolve their conflicts with words, not weapons.”

“When I think about the world I would like to leave to my daughter and the grandchildren I hope to have, it is a world that moves away from unequal, unstable, unsustainable interdependence to integrated communities — locally, nationally and globally — that share the characteristics of all successful communities.”

“When times are tough and people are frustrated and angry and hurting and uncertain, the politics of constant conflict may be good, but what is good politics does not necessarily work in the real world. What works in the real world is cooperation.”

“You can put wings on a pig, but you don't make it an eagle.”

“I still believe in a place called Hope.”

“Part of our essential humanity is paying respect to what God gave us and what will be here a long time after we're gone.”

“I want American Dream growth — lots of new businesses, well-paying jobs, and American leadership in new industries, like clean energy and biotechnology.”

“Being president is like running a cemetery: you've got a lot of people under you and nobody's listening.”

“Our democracy must be not only the envy of the world but the engine of our own renewal.”

“When I took office, only high energy physicists had ever heard of what is called the Worldwide Web... Now even my cat has its own page.”