Abraham Lincoln Quotes

If you make a promise, the thing is still uncertain and depends on a future day .. but if you refuse, you alienate people to a certainty and immediately.

The last question I would ask of someone I was considering appointing to office is how he would act in a specific situation.

My integrity means more to me than any fame or money. When I say something, I want people to take it to the bank that I mean it and believe in it.

For good or ill, I'm a person of leadership. I do my best. I don't dodge responsibility.

A man of conviction is often more to be desired than a man of experience.

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

The test of any man lies in action.

Deciding whether to trust or credit a person is always an uncertain task.

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.

What distinguishes the majority of men from the few is their ability to act according to their beliefs.

I don't really put my name to anything that I don't love and believe in, because there's no point.

Political courage is not political suicide.

I don't think that has to be our choice... This party was born in principle. This party will die if it doesn't stand by its decision of principle.

When you take a stand out of deep conviction, people know. They may not even agree, but they ask, 'Do I want someone who is willing to take a hard stand and someone I can trust to do that when the chips are down?' They want that.

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.

At the end the day because I believe so strongly in leadership, what I look for first, what I try to assess, is integrity.

Obama is a man of first-class intellect and first-class temperament. But his character remains highly suspect.

People will support somebody who they think believes what he says and stands for.

Send a wise man and don't advise him. He should know what to do.

Is that so? Well, that's the man I will reappoint, for he knows how to do his duty, irrespective of the man or station.

The greatest virtue in a prince is to know his friends.

In relation to these pledges [for recommendations to offices] I must not only be chaste but above suspicion.

Besides having an audience, the most important currency for any leader is his or her reputation. And having a reputation for over-delivering on what's expected of you should give your visitors, subscribers and customers more reason to spend their money with you and refer their friends.

I'm not afraid of making big and sometimes unpopular calls if they're the right thing to do.

People want to know that I'm a person of conviction.