"I always think coming from that background probably has always made me a better person as a candidate and probably was one of the reasons that I got elected to the second-highest office in the state — because of those values I learned as a kid in that small town and that small school. Knowing what it meant to respect one another and maintain that throughout my life. I hope someday, when politics are over, someone says, “You know, Mike Parson was a good statesman.” I always say the difference between a politician and a statesman: a politician is always worried about themselves and the next election. And you see that happen a lot. But I think statesmen are truly the ones who worry about the next generation."

"I think I would like to be a Senator or something in twenty years. I don't think I really know enough yet. I'm just 30 now and I wouldn't even be eligible to run for office for another five years. But…"

"We always have to be serious about public health in a global sense and surveillance for "the next one", because we don't know where it will emerge."

"With the invention of the atomic weapons, there appeared, between 1945 and 1955, a class of strategists who looked upon the nuclear bomb as the 'absolute' weapon of war. Accordingly, they formulated t…"

"Guard against those men who make a great noise about religion, in choosing representatives. It is electioneering intrigue. … If pure religion is the criterion to denominate candidates, those who make …"