Political Leadership Quotes

We're not going to have the America that we want until we elect leaders who are going to tell the truth - not most days, but every day.

It is not power that corrupts but fear.

The only thing we have to fear is fear itself-and possibly teh bogey man.

The only difference I ever found between the Democratic leadership and the Republican leadership is that one of them is skinning you from the ankle up and the other, from the ear down.

You can build a throne with bayonets, but it's difficult to sit on it.

If you want to rebel, rebel from inside the system.

That's much more powerful than rebelling outside the system.

The best way to give advice to your children is to find out what they want and then advise them to do it.

To sin by silence, when they should protest, makes cowards of men.

It is the first time in the history of Rwanda that political change in the highest leadership of the country has taken place in peace and security.

As a woman leader, I thought I brought a different kind of leadership.

I was interested in women's issues, in bringing down the population growth rate... as a woman, I entered politics with an additional dimension - that of a mother.

I'm absolutely, utterly, and completely certain that God wouldn't be homophobic.

I'd much rather go to hell - I really would much rather go to hell - than go to a homophobic heaven.

We are not seeking revolution. We just want democracy.

I always believe that ultimately, if people are paying attention, then we get good government and good leadership. And when we get lazy, as a democracy and civically start taking shortcuts, then it results in bad government and politics.

Divorced from ethics, leadership is reduced to management and politics to mere technique.

I wonder how far Moses would have gone if he'd taken a poll in Egypt? What would Jesus Christ have preached if he'd taken a poll in Israel? Where would the Reformation have gone if Martin Luther had taken a poll?

The national Democratic leadership is going so far left, they've left America.

Don't let them bury the American dream in their graveyard of gloom and envy.

Leading is not the same as being the leader.

Being the leader means you hold the highest rank, either by earning it, good fortune or navigating internal politics. Leading, however, means that others willingly follow you—not because they have to, not because they are paid to, but because they want to.

Politics is about power. It is about the power of the state. It is about the power of the state as applied to individuals, the society in which they live and the economy in which they work. Most critically, our responsibility in this parliament is how that power is used: whether it is used for the benefit of the few or the many.

The Only cure for nihilism is for liberal democratic societies - their electorates, their judiciary, and their political leadership- to insist that force is legitimate only to the degree that it serves defensible poltical goals. Thus implies a constant exercise of due diligence.

Comrade Deng Xiaoping - along with other party elders - gave the party leadership their firm and full support to put down the political disturbance using forceful measures.

Power tends to corrupt. But the power in Washington resides in Congress, if it wants to use it. It can do anything-it can stop the Vietnam War. It can make its will felt, if it can ever get its act together to do anything.

Standardized tests are an indicator of the kind of service taxpayers are receiving - and whether schools, educators and policymakers are doing their jobs. In the United States, taxpayers spend almost $600 billion annually on public education, so it's not unreasonable to ask what all that money is producing. In fact, it's irresponsible not to know.

When a leader is in the Democratic Party he's a boss.

When he's in the Republican Party he's nothing but a leader.

Success in politics demands that you must take your people into confidence about your views and state them very clearly, very politely, very calmly, but nevertheless, state them openly.

Continuing to believe the same thing, even in the face of new evidence to the contrary, is the definition of insanity - except in politics where it's called leadership.

The recent death of Gene McCarthy reminded me of a lesson I spent a long, long time unlearning, so now I have to re-learn it. It's about political courage and heroes, and when a country is desperate for leadership. There are times when regular politics will not do, and this is one of those times.

Some things transcend politics and policy and the lust for power.

Truth, honesty, integrity, decency and fairness are immutable values. They are the ethical substance of life. They ought to be cherished. To sell them out is to sell one's soul.

Our policy is simple: We are not going to betray our friends, reward the enemies of freedom, or permit fear and retreat to become American policies — especially in this hemisphere. None of the four wars in my lifetime came about because we were too strong.

...there are some who are naturally fitted for philosophy and political leadership, while the rest should follow their lead and let philosophy alone.

There is one lesson from the past, in particular, that we cannot afford to ignore: You cannot make progress on gender equality or broader human development, without safeguarding women's reproductive health and rights.

I don't like people who are in politics for themselves and not for others.

You want that, you can go into show business.

There was no imminent threat. This was made up in Texas, announced in January to the Republican leadership that war was going to take place and was going to be good politically. This whole thing was a fraud.

Patriots don't go to Russia. They don't seek asylum in Cuba. They don't seek asylum in Venezuela. They fight their cause here. Edward Snowden is a coward. He is a traitor. And he has betrayed his country. And if he wants to come home tomorrow to face the music, he can do so.

We're at the end of an era of failed leadership.

We have been led by a divider [Barack Obama] who has sliced and diced the electorate, pitting American against American for political purposes.