Frank Underwood Quotes in House of Cards

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• There are two kinds of pain. The sort of pain that makes you strong, or useless pain. The sort of pain that’s only suffering. I have no patience for useless things.
• The nature of promises, is that they remain immune to changing circumstances.
• I love that woman. I love her more than sharks love blood.
• That’s how you devour a whale. One bite at a time.
• Power is a lot like real estate. It’s all about location, location, location. The closer you are to the source, the higher your property value.
• He chose money over power. In this town, a mistake nearly everyone makes. Money is the McMansion in Sarasota that starts falling apart after 10 years. Power is the old stone building that stands for centuries. I cannot respect someone who doesn’t see the difference.
• What a martyr craves more than anything is a sword to fall on. So, you sharpen the blade, hold it at just the right angle, and then, three, two, one…
• I know all about hate. It starts in your gut. Deep down here. Where it stirs and churns. And then it rises. Hate rises, fast and volcanic. It erupts, hot on the breath. Your eyes go wide with fire. You clench your teeth so hard you think they’ll shatter. “I hate you, God. I hate you!” Oh, don’t tell me you haven’t said those words before. I know you have. We all have.
• “What are we supposed to do in the face of so much senseless pain?” And he said to me, “What else can we do but take what seems meaningless, and try to make something meaningful from it?”
• Friends make the worst enemies.
• Competence is such an exotic bird in these woods that I appreciate it whenever I see it.
• I have often found that bleeding hearts have an ironic fear of their own blood.
• There’s no better way to overpower a trickle of doubt than with a flood of naked truth.
• How quickly poor grades are forgotten in the shadow of power and wealth.
• Proximity to power deludes some into believing they wield it.
• A great man once said that “Everything in life is about s*x… Except s*x. S*x is about power.
• You don’t compensate a working girl so you can cuddle after.
• Kindness isn’t kindness if you expect a reward.
• It only takes 10 seconds to crush a man’s ambitions. I need to take care I protect mine.
• I said to my professor, “Why mourn the death of presidents, or anyone for that matter? The dead can’t hear us.” And he asked if I believed in heaven. I said no. And then he asked if I had no faith in God. I said you have it wrong. It’s God that has no faith in us.
• There is no solace above or below. Only us. Small, solitary, striving, battling one another. I pray to myself, for myself.
• Every kitten grows up to be a cat. They seem so harmless at first. Small, quiet, lapping up their saucer of milk. But once their claws get long enough, they draw blood. Sometimes from the hand that feeds them.
• For those of us climbing to the top of the food chain, there can be no mercy. There is but one rule. Hunt or be hunted.
• One heartbeat away from the presidency, and not a single vote cast in my name. Democracy is so overrated.
• If you don’t like how the table is set, turn over the table.
• The higher up the mountain, the more treacherous the path.
• If we never did anything we shouldn’t do, we’d never feel good about doing the things we should.
• In Gaffney, we had our own brand of diplomacy. Shake with your right hand, but hold a rock in your left.
• The gift of a good liar is making people think you lack a talent for lying.
• Presidents who obsess over history, obsess about their place in it, instead of forging it.
• Do you think I’m a hypocrite? Well, you should. I wouldn’t disagree with you. The road to power is paved with hypocrisy and casualties. Never regret.
• I’ve always loathed the necessity of sleep. Like death, it puts even the most powerful men on their backs.
• The only thing more satisfying than convincing someone to do what I want is failing to persuade them on purpose. It’s like a “do not enter” sign. It just begs you to walk through the door.
• From the lion’s den to a pack of wolves. When you’re fresh meat, kill, and throw them something fresher.
• I’ve always said that power is more important than money. But when it comes to elections, money gives power… well, a run for its money.
• What is the face of a coward? The back of his head as he runs from the battle.
• You can’t turn a “no” to a “yes” without a “maybe” in between.
• Love? That’s what you’re selling? Well, I don’t buy it! [To Jesus]
• If I can’t scrape the money together behind the scenes, I’ll rob the bank in broad goddamn daylight.
• No writer worth his salt can resist a good story, just as no politician can resist making promises he can’t keep.
• Imagination is its own form of courage.
• Sometimes I think the presidency… is the illusion of choice.
• Conscience has an unmistakable stink to it, sort of like raw onions and morning breath. But a lie stinks even more when it’s coming from someone who isn’t used to lying. It’s more like rotten eggs and horseshit.
• The only problem with common sense is that it’s so… common.
• Do you know the main thing that separates a politician from the rest of the species? A politician is the one who would drown a litter of kittens for ten minutes of prime time.
• One man’s tragedy is another man’s treasure.