I’m not trying to get myself up a notch on the ladder by shoving somebody else down on the ladder, whether it’s a candidate or the president of the United States or anybody else. I just don’t believe that’s the way one oughta campaign, I’ve never done that.

If we have to use force, it is because we are America. We are the indispensable nation. We stand tall. We see further into the future.

When the leaders choose to make themselves bidders at an auction of popularity, their talents, in the construction of the state, will be of no service. They will become flatterers instead of legislators; the instruments, not the guides, of the people.

Leaders who fail to prune their pride will meet demise. That’s not a guess, it’s a guarantee. With pride, it’s not a matter of ‚if‘ we will fall, but ‚when.‘ There are no exceptions.

Being a good listener is absolutely critical to being a good leader; you have to listen to the people who are on the front line.

I loved being Secretary of State, that’s probably evident to everyone who watched me.

If you’re going to change things, you have to be with the people who hold the levers.

Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton both had exceptional natural abilities. Nelson Rockefeller was very good statewide but never gained national traction.

It’s amazing, the culture Coach Belichick has been able to create in our system.

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

My observation is that whenever one person is found adequate to the discharge of a duty… it is worse executed by two persons, and scarcely done at all if three or more are employed therein.

My desire to devolve authority has nothing to do with a wish to shirk responsibility.

No lying knight or lying priest ever prospered in any age, but especially not in the dark ones. Men prospered then only in following an openly declared purpose, and preaching candidly beloved and trusted creeds.

I try to lead by example, being conscious of others and being responsible.

I’m no leader; I’m a little humble follower.

Some people want to win races. Other people want to be President of the United States.

A revolution can be neither made nor stopped. The only thing that can be done is for one of several of its children to give it a direction by dint of victories.

All good leaders are connectors. They relate well and make people feel confident about themselves and their leader.

I want to be an honest man and a good writer.

In America the President reigns for four years, and Journalism governs forever and ever.

A good objective of leadership is to help those who are doing poorly to do well and to help those who are doing well to do even better.

In order to govern, the question is not to follow out a more or less valid theory but to build with whatever materials are at hand. The inevitable must be accepted and turned to advantage.

In war, you can only be killed once, but in politics, many times.

Anybody who tells you that a two-day conference, you’re going to turn into the General Patton of leadership, they’re not telling you the truth. But you can learn the fundamentals; you can absolutely understand the fundamentals.

No such thing as a man willing to be honest – that would be like a blind man willing to see.

The action we take and the decisions we make in this decade will have consequences far into this century. If America shows weakness and uncertainty, the world will drift toward tragedy. That will not happen on my watch.

I have no delusions about my likability in every scenario. I know that in order to get things done the way you want them, oftentimes your position will be unpopular.

When it comes to the health of our families, Barack refused to listen to all those folks who told him to leave health reform for another day, another president. He didn’t care whether it was the easy thing to do politically – that’s not how he was raised – he cared that it was the right thing to do.

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

I suppose leadership at one time meant muscles; but today it means getting along with people.

A leader who doesn’t hesitate before he sends his nation into battle is not fit to be a leader.

Honor has not to be won; it must only not be lost.

Live truth instead of professing it.

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.

When you want a thing done, ‚Don’t do it yourself‘ is a good motto for Scoutmasters.

Leadership to me means duty, honor, country. It means character, and it means listening from time to time.

In action a great heart is the chief qualification. In work, a great head.

Politics is not bean bags. It’s serious, tough stuff.

What I admire most about Hillary is that she never buckles under pressure. She never takes the easy way out. And Hillary Clinton has never quit on anything in her life. And when I think about the kind of president that I want for my girls and all our children, that’s what I want.

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

Standing as I do, with my hand upon this staff, and under the folds of the American flag, I ask you to stand by me so long as I stand by it.

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

A good model of how to ‚work with the enemy‘ internally is presented by the Dalai Lama, in his endless caretaking of his soul as he confronts the Chinese government that invaded Tibet.

Leadership is hard. It’s a skill. It’s a technique.

If you have fear, you are bound by tradition, you follow some leader or guru. When you are bound by tradition, when you are afraid of your husband or your wife, you lose your dignity as an individual human being.

The Creator has not thought proper to mark those in the forehead who are of stuff to make good generals. We are first, therefore, to seek them blindfold, and then let them learn the trade at the expense of great losses.

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.

There’s no difference between one’s killing and making decisions that will send others to kill. It’s exactly the same thing, or even worse.

My mother had a saying: ‚Kamala, you may be the first to do many things, but make sure you’re not the last.‘

Don’t tell people how to do things, tell them what to do and let them surprise you with their results.

We need an adult in the White House. When making life-or-death, war-or-peace decisions, a president can’t just pop off or lash out irrationally.

I am mindful not only of preserving executive powers for myself, but for predecessors as well.

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

I am sometimes a fox and sometimes a lion. The whole secret of government lies in knowing when to be the one or the other.

Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters.

I can die a happy man never having been president of the United States of America. But it doesn’t mean I won’t run.

Leaders in all spheres who are living with HIV should be encouraged, not coerced, to lead by example and disclose their HIV status.

A president has an inescapable responsibility to provide direction: What are we trying to achieve? What are we trying to prevent? Why? To do that, he has to both analyze and reflect.

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

One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors.

I’m responsible for starting a whole new school of pretension.