Abraham Lincoln Quotes

Public influence is the real government of the world.

We are ruled by public opinion, not by statute law.

He who molds public sentiment goes deeper than he who enacts statutes or pronounces decisions.

In America, public opinion is the leader.

He who molds the public sentiment... makes statutes and decisions possible or impossible to make.

Towering over Presidents and State Governors, over Congress and State Legislatures, over conventions and the vast machinery of party, public opinion stands out in the United States, as the great source of Power.

Polls make leadership impossible.

The court of public opinion is open 24 hours a day.

With public sentiment, nothing can fail; without it, nothing can succeed.

Mass opinion has acquired mounting power in this century. It has shown itself to be a dangerous master of decisions when the stakes are life and death.

Today's public opinion, though it may appear as light as air, may be tomorrow's legislation-for better or for worse.

Public opinion is the most potent monarch this world knows.

The greatest power is not money power, but political power.

Public opinion is a second conscience.

We live in a society obsessed with public opinion. But leadership has never been about popularity.

The power of the periodical press is second only to that of the people.

We ought to change polls, not to follow polls.

I trust the American people. They almost always get it right …

What the multitude says is so, or soon will be.

It would be just like him to wait for some expression of public opinion instead of giving direction to that public opinion.

Public opinion, a vulgar, impertinent, anonymous tyrant who deliberately makes life unpleasant for anyone who is not content to be the average man.

… the irresistible power of concentrated public opinion

We are the majority of the thinkers of the country.

No law is stronger than is the public sentiment where it is to be enforced.

Public opinion in this country is everything.