Tony Blair Quotes

The public, by and large, trusts its leaders not only to tell the truth, but to get the job done. When they don’t get the job done, they get punished, and when they don’t get the job done and it comes out that they lied, they’re in really serious trouble. This is what happened to [Lyndon] Johnson and it’s what happened to [George W,] Bush. If you’re going to tell a lie, make sure the policy works out.

I am not concerned about getting reelected. I can make the unpopular but necessary decision. Your focus from day one is on your legacy rather than political considerations.

That’s one difficulty about a democracy. Nothing ever gets decided—even after its been decided.

For the first ten years or so, you would always question whether the decisions were right or wrong, but you have to learn to put things behind you once a decision is made. You can't be wishy-washy about it

To every New Yorker - and to all those who believed in what I tried to stand for - I sincerely apologize.

In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.

It is the characteristic excellence of the strong man that he can bring momentous issues to the fore and make a decision about them. The weak are always forced to decide between alternatives they have not chosen themselves.

The politician who never made a mistake never made a decision.

I've never worried about payback. People are hungry for leadership that's not afraid of political consequence.

I came into office to do what was correct, not to see what was politically expedient to get re-elected.

One cannot govern with 'buts'.

I don't like politicians who vacillate.

If I started worrying about how my constituents are going to react to every move I make, I wouldn't be able to do my job here. I'll do what I think is right and explain it later.

But our leaders of today have decided it's more important to be popular, to say and do what's easy, and say yes rather than to say no, when no is what is required.

We've got to trust the politicians with these decisions.

I don't think we've asked the right questions, the tough questions, at the right time, in Washington.

I don't vote for the guy I trust. I vote for the guy who trusts me the most.

If you [as a Presidential candidate] identify a problem, you are going to be expected to have a solution.

I ask you to accept one thing. Hand on heart, I did what I thought was right. I may have been wrong. That's your call

I was disappointed a little in Stevenson because I did think he couldn't make up his mind. It's the feeling I always had. Perhaps all of us have self-doubt, and we should have, and most of us do, but it doesn't show. It doesn't show as much as it did in Adlai; he seemed to do it in public.

The President was a responsibility beyond that of managing the government. He has a responsibility as a moral leader.

A statesman is judged by results. If his policy fails he goes. It may be unfair, but there is a kind of rough justice about it.

Given a choice of five strategies, they choose them all.

It is most difficult to deal with. There are so many plans, so many schemes, and so many reasons why there should be neither plans nor schemes.

You can and you can't You will and you won't You'll be damned if you do You'll be damned if you don't