Lady, I'm not ashamed that my son was gay. My government is.

from season one, episode 13 'Take Out the Trash Day'

from season one, episode 18 'Six Meetings Before Lunch'

Education is the silver bullet. Education is everything. We don't need little changes, we need gigantic monumental changes. Schools should be palaces. The competition for the best teachers should be fierce. They should be making six figure salaries. Schools should be extremely expensive for governments and absolutely free of charge for it's citizens just like national defense.

That's my position. I just haven't figured how to do it yet.

from season 2, episode 2 'In the Shadow of Two Gunmen part 2'

There were 36 homicides last night, 480 sexual assaults, 3 411 roberies, 3 685 aggravated assaults. All at gunpoint. And if anyone thinks those crimes could have been prevented if the victims had been carrying guns, I'd only remind you that the President of the United States was shot last night while surrounded by the best trained guards in the history of the world.

from season 2, episode 3 'The Midterms'

I like your show. I like how you call homosexuality an abomination. (I don't say homosexuality is an abomination, the Bible does.) Yes it does. Leviticus. I want to ask you a few questions while I have you here. I'm interested in selling my youngest daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. She's a Georgetown sophomore, speaks fluent Italien, always cleared the table when it was her turn. What would a good price for her be? ... My chief of staff, Leo McGarry insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly says he should be put to death. Am I morally obliged to kill him myself or is it okay to call the police? ... Touching the skin of a dead pig makes one unclean. Leviticus 11:7. If they promise to wear gloves, can the Washington Redskins still play football? Can Notre-Dame? Can West Point? Does the whole town really have to be together to stone my brother John for planting different crops side by side? Can I burn my mother in a small familly gathering for wearing garments made from two different threads? ...

from season 2, episode 4 'In This White House'

Don't say that. Say they are smug and suspicious. Say their approach to public policy makes you wanna tear your hair out. Say they like higher taxes and spending your money. Say they want to take your guns and open your borders. But don't call them worthless. At least don't do it in front of me. The people that I have met have been extraordinarily qualified. Their intent is good. Their commitment is true. They are righteous. And they are patriots. And I am their lawyer.

from season 4, episode 1: '20 Hours in America'

Jedd: ...More than anytime in recent history, Amerca's destiny is not of our choosing. We did not seek, nor did we provoke an asault on our freedom and our way of life. We did not expect nor did we invite a confrontation with evil. Yet the true measure of a people's strength is how they rise to master that moment when it does arrive. Forty-four people were killed a couple of hours ago at Kinnison State University. Three swimmers from the men's team were killed, two are in critical condition when after hearing the explosion from their practice facility they ran into the fire to help get people out.
Ran INTO the fire.
The streets of heaven are too crowded with angels tonight. They're our students and our teachers and our parents and our friends. The streets of heaven are too crowded with angels but everytime we think we've measured our capacity to meet a challenge we look up and we're reminded that that capacity may well be limitless. This is a time for American heroes. We will do what is hard. We will achieve what is great. This is a time for American heroes and we reach for the stars. ...
Bruno: When did he write that last part?
Sam: In the car.
Bruno: Freak!

from season 4, episode 2: 'College Kids'

Jedd: 'Joy Cometh in the Morning' scripture tells us. I hope so. I don't know if life would be worth living if it didn't. And I don't yet know who set off the bombs at Kinnison State. I don't know if it's one person or 10 and I don't know what they want. All I know for sure, all I know for certain is that they weren't born wanting to do this. There's evil in the world. There'll always be. We can't do anything about that. But there's violence in our schools ... Too much mayhem in our culture and we can do something about that. There's not enough character, discipline, depth in our classrooms. There aren't enough teachers in our classrooms. There isn't nearly enough, not nearly enough, not nearly enough money in our classrooms. And we can do something about that. We're not doing enough, not nearly enough to teach our children well. And we can do better, and we must do better and we will do better. And we will start this moment today. They weren't born wanting to do this.

from season 2 episode "the Stackhouse Fillibuster"

Jedd ' Charlie I want to call senators, we will start with our friends first, and when we're done with those 2 we'll start with the other 98"

Josh: "I'm just saying that if you were in an accident, I wouldn't stop for a beer."
Donna: "If you were in an accident I wouldn't stop for red lights"
Season 2; Episode 18 "17 People"

President Josiah Bartlet: Sweden has a 100% literacy rate. 100%! How do they do that?
Leo McGarry: Maybe they don't and they can't add.
Season 2; Episode 12 "The Drop In"

from season 5; episode 13 "The Warfare of Genghis Khan"

Josh: Voyager, in case it's ever encountered by extraterrestrials, is carrying photos of life on Earth, greetings in 55 languages and a collection of music from Gregorian chants to Chuck Berry, including "Dark Was the Night (Cold Was the Ground)" by 20's bluesman Blind Willie Johnson whose step-mother blinded him at 7 by throwing lye in his eyes after his father beat her for being with another man. He died, penniless, of pneumonia after sleeping bundled in newspapers in the ruins of his house that burned down. But his music just left the solar system.

season 7, epsode 6 "The Al Smith Dinner"

Woman: I'd like to hear what you're saying tonight (on abortion).
Santos: That abortion is a tragedy. That it should be legal, it should be safe, it should be a lot rarer than it is right now.

season 7, episode 7 "The Debate"

Santos: Liberals got women the right to vote. Liberals got African Americans the right to vote. Liberals created social security, and lifted millions of elderly people out of poverty. Liberals ended segregation. Liberals passed the Civil Rights Act the Voting Rights Act. Liberals created medicare. Liberals passed the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act. What did the consevatives do? The opposed every one of those programs. Every one! So when you try to hurl the word "liberal" as though it was something dirty, something to step away from, something that I should be ashamed of, it won't work Senator because I will pick up that label and wear it as a badge of honour.

season 7, episode 8 "Undecided"

Santos: My prayers are with Ronnie Burke's family today. I know yours are too. My prayers are with officer Ralph Martino and his family. They are not struggling with the loss of a child but they are struggling with a terrible truth. My prayers are with those families and with this one.
You know I find myself on days like this casting about for someone to blame. I blame the kid, he stole the car. I blame the parents, why couldn't they teach him better. I blame the cop, did he need to fire? I blame everyone & I am filled with rage.
And then I try and find compassion. Compassion for the people I blame. Compassion for the people I do not understand. Compassion. Doesn't always work so well.
I remember as a young man listening to the radio to Doctor King in 1968. He asked of us compassion and we responded, not necessarily because we felt it but because he convinced us that if we could find compassion, if we could express compassion and if we could just pretend compassion... it would help us so much more than vengeance could. And he was right. It did. But not enough. What we've learned this week is that more compassion is required of us and we are all, I think, everyone of us, tired. We're tire of understanding. We're tired of waiting. We're tired of trying to understand why our children aren't safe and why our efforts to make them safe seem to fail. We're tired.
But we must know that we have made some progress. And blame will only destroy it. Blame will breed more violence and we have had enough of that. Blame will not rid our streets of crime and drugs and fear and we have had enough of that. Blame will not strengthen our schools, our families and our work forces. Blame will rob us of those things and we have had enough of that.
And so, I ask you today to dig down deep and find that compassion in your hearts because it will keep us on the road. And we will walk together and we will work together and slowly, too slowly, things will get better.

season 7, episode 11 "Internal Displacement"

C.J.: You think I'm not aware that I'm living the first line of my obituary right now?

season 7, episode 11 "Internal Displacement"

Danny: (discussing plans for when C.J. leaves her White House job) If I'm gonna jump off and you're gonna get pushed off the cliff, why don't we hold hands on the way down?

season 7, episode 19 "Transition"

Sam: JOSH! ... I didn't come here cause you're such a silver tongued recruiter or cause I got tired of summer in January. Santos may be the future ... and if he is I want to be a part of it. But he can't do it without you. Liberal Democrats are going to force him left, moderate Republicans are going to fence-sit as long as they can and you're the one who's got to make this go, who's got to cut through the reflexive demagoguery and timidity and make people do what they were sent here to do: actually govern, serve the voters instead of striking poses and playing 'gotcha'. And it's going to be close to impossible if you're at your best. And what may only be news to you at this point, you are nowhere near your best.
Take the vacation. I haven't said I'm signing on but I can tell you this, I'm not staying unless you go. One of us is getting on a plane tonight. If it's you, you're back in a week. If it's me I'm gone, adios, for good.
Your call.

This guy's walking down a street, when he falls in a hole. The walls are so steep, he can't get out. A doctor passes by, and the guy shouts up "Hey you! Can you help me out?" The doctor writes him a prescription, throws it down the hole and moves on. Then a priest comes along and the guy shouts up "Father, I'm down in this hole, can you help me out?" The priest writes out a prayer, throws it down in the hole and moves on. Then a friend walks by. "Hey Joe, it's me, can you help me out?" And the friend jumps in the hole! Our guy says "Are you stupid? Now we're both down here!" and the friend says, "Yeah, but I've been down here before, and I know the way out." As long as I got a job, you got a job, you understand me?
Leo to Josh
Season 2 Noel

You know, you remind me of the man that lived by the river. He heard a radio report that the river was going to rush up and flood the town. And that all the residents should evacuate their homes. But the man said, "I’m religious. I pray. God loves me. God will save me."
The waters rose up. A guy in a row boat came along and he shouted, "Hey, hey you! You in there. The town is flooding. Let me take you to safety." But the man shouted back, "I’m religious. I pray. God loves me. God will save me."
A helicopter was hovering overhead. And a guy with a megaphone shouted, "Hey you, you down there. The town is flooding. Let me drop this ladder and I’ll take you to safety." But the man shouted back that he was religious, that he prayed, that God loved him and that God will take him to safety.
Well... the man drowned. And standing at the gates of St. Peter, he demanded an audience with God. "Lord," he said, "I’m a religious man, I pray. I thought you loved me. Why did this happen?" God said, "I sent you a radio report, a helicopter, and a guy in a rowboat. What the hell are you doing here?" [pause] He sent you a priest, a rabbi, and a Quaker, Mr. President. Not to mention his son, Jesus Christ. What do you want from him?

Father Cavanaugh to Bartlet
Season 1 Take This Sabbath Day