John F. Kennedy Quotes

Today, more than ever, citizens demand with good reason that moral and ethical principles be upheld and that exemplariness preside over our public life. And the king, as the head of state, must not only be an example but also a servant to that just and legitimate demand of the citizens.

One hopes that good, sensible and brave people will continue to go into public life at all levels.

I'm not a politician. I don't want to be a politician, because politicians do what is politically expedient. I want to do what's right.

I think you need people of principle, of character, that are leaders, that take stands on important tough issues that will affect the future of this country.

I don't claim any moral or ethical high ground, but I also have chosen not to run for public office. Shouldn't there be a higher standard of conduct for public officials?

So I'm just waiting until one party or the other actually gets a moral compass and a backbone.

There are, believe it or not, good politicians.

The best citizens were supposed to desire honest men in office, men who would not take bribes, men who would appoint high-minded men as their subordinates, men who would look after the public interest, see that public charities were well supported.

When you are in politics, and you are a genuine person who genuinely cares, then everything comes second.

I have seen in the Halls of Congress more idealism, more humanness, more compassion, more profiles of courage than in any other institution that I have ever known.

There are actually very few US politicians who have integrity and vision.

I really see the vocation of politics like I see every vocation - whether it's being a reporter or serving in public life or being a plumber - as an extension of ministry.

A politician ought to be born a foundling and remain a bachelor.

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

I think the greater responsibility, in terms of morality, is where leadership begins.

I always tried to do what I believed is right and I've always voted the way that I believe was the right way for my constituency, and that's what I'm doing when I govern.

It is my hope that as South Carolina senators, that we will stand up for what is best and good about our state.

If one of my boys was asking me if they should go into politics, I'd say there's only one reason to go into public life and that's to help people.

You know, when you're in public life, everything you do is out there. But I am proud to stand on my record.

You ask men in office to be honest; I ask them to serve the public.

I am not in politics to make more money.

It taught me that Clinton's instinct to make this about your life as a citizen, rather than his as a human being, was the right answer to these things.

Telling the truth, and confronting the challenge, is what politics is about.

Every leader has the responsibility to hone his or her integrity. Many times, there are integrity traps that have a tendency to catch well-meaning leaders off guard.

My public life is before you; and I know you will believe me when I say, that when I sit down in solitude to the labours of my profession, the only questions I ask myself are, What is right? What is just? What is for the public good?