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.

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.

I am confident that when the facts and policies have been examined, when the record of performances have been reviewed, Barack Obama and Joe Biden will once again be elected to lead our beloved country to a better future.

Friends accept you the way you are.

Leaders must be close enough to relate to others, but far enough ahead to motivate them.

Governments need to have both shepherds and butchers.

I have some good friends of my own who happen to be gay, and when it comes to gay, straight, or whatever, I’m for anything life-affirmative. I’m for gay power, straight power, male power, female power; everybody should feel empowered without oppressing anyone who’s different.

I’m committed to the people of Gujarat. I will devote each and every moment to serve my people of Gujarat.

Who shall decide when doctors disagree, And soundest casuists doubt, like you and me?

Renunciation remains sorrow, though a sorrow borne willingly.

When in doubt tell the truth.

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.

Our chief justices have probably had more profound and lasting influence on their times and on the direction of the nation than most presidents.

I believe in Coach Louis Wong. He is so much more than just a football coach.

All over the place, from the popular culture to the propaganda system, there is constant pressure to make people feel that they are helpless, that the only role they can have is to ratify decisions and to consume.

Remember that life’s big changes rarely give advance warning.

The punishment which the wise suffer who refuse to take part in the government, is to live under the government of worse men.

Sometimes if you want to get rid of the gun, you have to pick the gun up.

If it’s stress of things that we cannot control, what you have to do is you mitigate that stress as much as possible. You’ve planned, you’ve trained, you’ve done everything you can in your power to mitigate the stress that’s facing you. And then after that, there’s nothing you can do. So, you have to let that one go.

Earn your success based on service to others, not at the expense of others.

Perhaps if you are in support functions waiting on the warfighters to spell out the specifics of what you are to do, you can avoid the consequences of not reading. Those who must adapt to overcoming an independent enemy’s will are not allowed that luxury.

Too often the great decisions are originated and given form in bodies made up wholly of men, or so completely dominated by them that whatever of special value women have to offer is shunted aside without expression.

I was born on a full moon. Both my children were born on full moons, too. Some people say that’s scary. It is what it is, man, I don’t be trippin‘. I couldn’t tell God when I wanted to be born.

You have to accept whatever comes and the only important thing is that you meet it with courage and with the best that you have to give.

Not brute force but only persuasion and faith are the kings of this world.

In God’s family, there are no outsiders, no enemies.

The big message of gospel is that you don’t have to keep fighting the universe; you can stop, and the universe is quite good to you. There is a loss of ego.

International summits and organisations like WTO take decisions, which will bind us, and if we are not present in such summits, we may be hurt by the decisions taken.

The thing to do, it seems to me, is to prepare yourself so you can be a rainbow in somebody else’s cloud. Somebody who may not look like you. May not call God the same name you call God – if they call God at all. I may not dance your dances or speak your language. But be a blessing to somebody. That’s what I think.

I felt we must separate political responsibility. The Dalai Lama should not carry that burden. So that is my selfish reason – to protect the old Dalai Lama tradition. It is safer without political involvement.

The American President resembles the commander of a ship at sea. He must have a helm to grasp, a course to steer, a port to seek.

Now from a distance, I look back on what the Corps taught me: to think like men of action, and to act like men of thought!

What is tolerance? It is the consequence of humanity. We are all formed of frailty and error; let us pardon reciprocally each other’s folly – that is the first law of nature.

I always tell people that if I move anywhere it would be Toronto.

Some years ago I became president of Columbia University and learned within 24 hours to be ready to speak at the drop of a hat, and I learned something more, the trustees were expected to be ready to speak at the passing of the hat.

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.

Put two or three men in positions of conflicting authority. This will force them to work at loggerheads, allowing you to be the ultimate arbiter.

I had to make a choice at one point in my life, of missing films or missing my children. It was a very easy decision to make because I missed my children so very much.

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

I don’t think I would run for president.

Political courage is not political suicide.

Positional leaders ignore the fact that every person has hopes, dreams, desires, and goals of his own. And leaders must bring their vision and the aspirations of the people they lead together in a way that benefits everyone.

Toleration is good for all, or it is good for none.

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?

Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change.

I think life is a matter of choices and that wherever we are, good or bad, is because of choices we make.

It is difficult for the common good to prevail against the intense concentration of those who have a special interest, especially if the decisions are made behind locked doors.

You can’t move so fast that you try to change the mores faster than people can accept it. That doesn’t mean you do nothing, but it means that you do the things that need to be done according to priority.

I just know what is right and I want to do what is right.

I usually make up my mind about a man in ten seconds, and I very rarely change it.

Perhaps it is better to be irresponsible and right, than to be responsible and wrong.

Acceptance looks like a passive state, but in reality it brings something entirely new into this world. That peace, a subtle energy vibration, is consciousness.

Life is not long, and too much of it must not pass in idle deliberation how it shall be spent.

It is a fine game to play – the game of politics – and it is well worth waiting for a good hand before really plunging.

Nothing is more intolerable than to have to admit to yourself your own errors.

We must have government that builds stamina into communities and men. That makes men instead of mendicants.

I want to use my position of leadership to help move along at a faster pace what I believe and know the Obama administration wants to do around the urgency of climate change.

Glam really did plant seeds for a new identity. I think a lot of kids needed that – that sense of reinvention. Kids learned that however crazy you may think it is, there is a place for what you want to do and who you want to be.

Never forget that no military leader has ever become great without audacity.

A return to first principles in a republic is sometimes caused by the simple virtues of one man. His good example has such an influence that the good men strive to imitate him, and the wicked are ashamed to lead a life so contrary to his example.

Most people don’t like change. They revolt against it unless they can clearly see the advantage it brings. For that reason, when good leaders prepare to take action or make changes, they take people through a process to get them ready for it.