Leaders who are kind of insecure or egocentric, they basically sabotage themselves.

Do I think faith will be an important part of being a good president? Yes, I do.

It stands to the everlasting credit of science that by acting on the human mind it has overcome man’s insecurity before himself and before nature.

As a leader, you have to have the ability to assimilate new information and understand that there might be a different view.

When you are winning a war almost everything that happens can be claimed to be right and wise.

Power does not corrupt men; fools, however, if they get into a position of power, corrupt power.

I would rather have peace in the world than be President.

When it comes to the qualifications that we should demand of our president, to start with, we need someone who will take the job seriously.

People have got to know whether or not their president is a crook. Well, I’m not a crook. I earned everything I’ve got.

The Scoutmaster teaches boys to play the game by doing so himself.

If a star or studio chief or any other great movie personages find themselves sitting among a lot of nobodies, they get frightened – as if somebody was trying to demote them.

Example is not the main thing in influencing others. It is the only thing.

There is no necessity to separate the monarch from the mob; all authority is equally bad.

I would rather try to persuade a man to go along, because once I have persuaded him, he will stick. If I scare him, he will stay just as long as he is scared, and then he is gone.

Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of success; leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning against the right wall.

I neither will aspire to nor will I accept, the position of president of the council of state and commander in chief.

The events of October 1962 are widely hailed as Kennedy’s finest hour.

It is a fine thing to have ability, but the ability to discover ability in others is the true test.

The fact that we are here today to debate raising America’s debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better. I, therefore, intend to oppose the effort to increase America’s debt.

To me, a leader is someone who holds her- or himself accountable for finding potential in people and processes. And so what I think is really important is sustainability.

In the long-run every Government is the exact symbol of its People, with their wisdom and unwisdom; we have to say, Like People like Government.

The other day the President said, I know you’ve had some rough times, and I want to do something that will show the nation what faith that I have in you, in your maturity and sense of responsibility. He paused, then said, would you like a puppy?

Justice and power must be brought together, so that whatever is just may be powerful, and whatever is powerful may be just.

No man is good enough to govern another man without the other’s consent.

Hillary doesn’t play. She has more experience and exposure to the presidency than any candidate in our lifetime – yes, more than Barack, more than Bill. So she is absolutely ready to be Commander-in-Chief on day one. And, yes, she happens to be a woman.

Before we acquire great power we must acquire wisdom to use it well.

Discipline is the soul of an army. It makes small numbers formidable; procures success to the weak, and esteem to all.

In my country we go to prison first and then become President.

A politician needs the ability to foretell what is going to happen tomorrow, next week, next month, and next year. And to have the ability afterwards to explain why it didn’t happen.

A good leader doesn’t get stuck behind a desk.

Especially when you’re at a high level in an organization, criticism can be devastating to an employee. I prefer to praise employees for what they’re doing right, and it tends to lead to them doing more of the same. Not always, but it’s the way I choose to bet.

In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility – I welcome it.

A man of genius has been seldom ruined but by himself.

The wisest have the most authority.

I break ground. I trailblaze.

All my authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

Most of the problems a President has to face have their roots in the past.

The more responsibility the Scoutmaster gives his patrol leaders, the more they will respond.

Power is the measure of the degree of control you have over circumstances in your life and the actions of the people around you. It is a skill that is developed by a deep understanding of human nature, of what truly motivates people, and of the manipulations necessary for advancement and protection.

America’s promises do not come with a price tag. We meet our commitments. We bear our burdens. That’s one of the reasons why almost every country on Earth sees America as stronger and more respected today than they did eight years ago when I took office.

If you call yourself a leader, then you have to be decisive. If you’re decisive, then you have the chance to be a leader. These are two sides to the same coin.

Cruel leaders are replaced only to have new leaders turn cruel.

One leader, one people, signifies one master and millions of slaves.

The government’s job is good governance for everybody. My government will make policies; if you fit into it, come on board, or stay where you are. My job is not to spoon-feed anyone.

Doing nothing while the middle class is hurting. That’s not leadership. Loose regulations and lax enforcement. That’s not leadership. That’s abandoning our middle class.

If one has the answers to all the questions – that is the proof that God is not with him. It means that he is a false prophet using religion for himself. The great leaders of the people of God, like Moses, have always left room for doubt. You must leave room for the Lord, not for our certainties; we must be humble.

Any woman who understands the problems of running a home will be nearer to understanding the problems of running a country.

A leader who confines his role to his people’s experience dooms himself to stagnation; a leader who outstrips his people’s experience runs the risk of not being understood.

If you don’t drive your business, you will be driven out of business.

The first method for estimating the intelligence of a ruler is to look at the men he has around him.

The day-to-day making of policy is arguing all the time. You’re trying to get the right approach and the right answer, and there are moments that aren’t very pleasant. But in the end, you look at the overall product.

I think with the Romans, that the general of today should be a soldier tomorrow if necessary.

Our brand of democracy is hard. But I can promise that a year from now, when I no longer hold this office, I’ll be right there with you as a citizen – inspired by those voices of fairness and vision, of grit and good humor and kindness that have helped America travel so far.

He who dreads hostility too much is unfit to rule.

The question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be… The nation and the world are in dire need of creative extremists.

Good leadership consists of showing average people how to do the work of superior people.

If I don’t run for president, we’ll all be OK.

The proper study of Man is anything but Man; and the most improper job of any man, even saints (who at any rate were at least unwilling to take it on), is bossing other men. Not one in a million is fit for it, and least of all those who seek the opportunity.

One of the roles of the Presidency is to lead a political party. Having a President in office is usually a huge advantage to a party because it gives the party a mouthpiece and an advocate at the highest level.

In various countries and times, leaders of groups that lagged behind, economically and educationally, have taught their followers to blame all their problems on other people – and to hate those other people.

Magnanimity in politics is not seldom the truest wisdom; and a great empire and little minds go ill together.