Jim Leach Quotes

How can we decide matters of public policy when we cannot understand them?

I'm always trying to invite citizens to participate in the process of public decision-making.

No government at any level has all the answers.

Good ideas are the backbone of good government.

What's wrong is that we are not participating to make this the type of government it needs to be.

In a democracy, citizens pass judgment on their government, and if they are kept in the dark about what their government is doing, they cannot be in a position to make well-grounded decisions.

The government is just the people acting together.

Democracy is based on the idea that the people rule and that the best decisions are made in public view.

Democracy is about aggregating the collective power of citizens to speak in their behalf.

In a democracy citizens are entitled to know what is in store for them before they vote.

Political authorities should lead the way and not lag behind [public opinion].

A deliberative assembly should be formed, and all measures be decided by public opinion.

Dishonesty in government is the business of every citizen. It is not enough to do your own job. There's no particular virtue in that. Democracy isn't a gift. It's a responsibility.

I think most people realize that our problems are our government, not me and you individually, except that we can - must have some sort of responsibility, because they're in there and they were elected, so we have to defend ourselves on those lines.

I'd rather entrust the government of the United States to the first 400 people listed in the Boston telephone directory than to the faculty of Harvard University.

If I do something, it's always 90% obvious and 10% unknown.

I think people respect governments that take decisions and act decisively.

It's up to the community now to decide if they want to keep this team.

I will run an open government that speaks with honesty, seeks opinion, listens to its citizens.

The cooperation of government at its different levels is important and can only be achieved as long as the people of Chicago are directly involved in our efforts and supportive of our goals.

Let's put aside the politics and trust the people. Let's embrace the unique opportunity we all have; take the heat and make the hard and difficult decisions, knowing that we're doing it to make things better for the people of Illinois.

We must become more comfortable with probability and uncertainty.

You can build a statistical model and that's all well and good, but if you're dealing with a new type of financial instrument, for example, or a new type of situation - then the choices you're making are pretty arbitrary in a lot of respects.

Our future cannot depend on the government alone. The ultimate solutions lie in the attitudes and the actions of the American people.

In politics there are so many holes, so many contradictions, you don't know what's happening.