The supreme quality for a leader is unquestionably integrity. Without it, no real success is possible,
no matter whether it is on a section gang, a football field, in an army, or in an office.
If a man's associates find him guilty of being phony, if they find that he lacks forthright integrity,
he will fail. His teachings and actions must square with each other.
The first great need, therefore, is integrity and high purpose.
~ Dwight D. Eisenhower ~
Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the President or any
other public official save exactly to the degree in which he himself stands by the country.
It is patriotic to support him insofar as he efficiently serves the country.
It is unpatriotic not to oppose him to the exact extent that by inefficiency
or otherwise he fails in his duty to stand by the country.
~ Theodore Roosevelt ~
Once a country is habituated to liars, it takes generations to bring the truth back.
~ Gore Vidal ~
I believe in an America with a government of men devoted solely to the public interests
- men of ability and dedication, free from conflict or corruption or other commitment -
a responsible government that is efficient and economical, with a balanced budget over
the years of the cycle, reducing its debt in prosperous times - a government willing to
entrust the people with the facts that they have
- not a businessman's government, with business in the saddle
- not a labor government, not a farmer's government,
not a government of one section of the country or another,
but a government of, for and by the people.
~ John F. Kennedy ~
All of us, no matter from what land our parents came, no matter in what way we may severally worship our Creator,
must stand shoulder to shoulder in a united America for the elimination of race and religious prejudice.
We must stand for a reign of equal justice to both big and small.
~ Theodore Roosevelt ~
Ultimately, the basic issue is whether America will provide global leadership that springs from the unity
and the integrity of the American people, or whether extremist doctrines, the manipulation of the truth,
will define America's role in the world.
At stake is nothing less than our nation's soul. …
But I am not discouraged. I really am not. I do not despair for our country. I never do.
I believe, as I always have, the essential decency and compassion and common sense
of the American people will prevail.
~ Jimmy Carter ~
We live in a time of transition, an uneasy era which is likely to endure for the rest of this century.
During the period we may be tempted to abandon some of the time-honored principles and commitments which
have been proven during the difficult times of past generations. We must never yield to this temptation.
Our American values are not luxuries, but necessities - not the salt in our bread, but the bread itself.
~ Jimmy Carter ~
Happily for the busy lunatics who rule over us,
we are permanently the United States of Amnesia.
We learn nothing because we remember nothing.
~ Gore Vidal ~
We swallow greedily any lie that flatters us,
but we sip only little by little at a truth we find bitter.
~ Denis Diderot ~
Across the gulfs and barriers that now divide us, we must remember that there are no permanent enemies.
Hostility today is a fact, but it is not a ruling law.
The supreme reality of our time is our indivisibility as children of God
and our common vulnerability on this planet.
~ John F. Kennedy ~
Character in many ways is everything in leadership.
It is made up of many things, but I would say character is really integrity.
When you delegate something to a subordinate, for example, it is absolutely your responsibility, and
he must understand this. You as a leader must take complete responsibility for what the subordinate does.
I once said, as a sort of wisecrack, that leadership consists of nothing but taking responsibility
for everything that goes wrong and giving your subordinates credit for everything that goes well.
~ Dwight D. Eisenhower ~
An attitude of moderation is apt to be misunderstood when passions are greatly excited
and when victory is apt to rest with the extremists on one side or the other;
yet I think it is in the long run the only wise attitude...
~ Theodore Roosevelt ~
I still have complete confidence that the United States, if given time, will resolve its problems.
We have always been able to do that in the past, whenever we faced difficult questions.
The United States still has that innate strength.
~ Jimmy Carter ~
Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.
~ John F. Kennedy ~
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