Ehud Olmert Quotes

I'm very glad I'm not a politician. I think it's one step away from the gates of hell, being a politician. I really do. It's a nightmare.

I'm a better American than 99% of the guys in the White House.

I admire politicians. It is a really tough assignment, and I would fall at the first fence.

We shouldn't accept mediocrity as the best a politician can do.

A statesman, we are told, should follow public opinion. Doubtless, as a coachman follows his horses; having firm hold on the reins and guiding them.

There is something wrong with the way in which we make our decisions. The Government listen too much to the pollsters and the party managers. The trouble is that they are not even very good at politics, and they are entering too much into policy decisions. As a result, there is too much short-termism, too much reacting to events, and not enough shaping of events. We give the impression of being in office but not in power. Far too many important decisions are made for 36 hours' publicity.

Presidents have to decide what their popularity is for. Lyndon Johnson probably understood best that political popularity is a wasting asset. You had to use it when you had it.

What gets you out of bed in the morning? This is a question I'm often asked as a politician. It tends to be closely followed by a dozen other questions about what I'll do in 'x' scenario or whether I'll resign if 'y' happens.

The Prime Minister wins debate after debate and loses battle after battle. The country is beginning to say that he fights debates like a war and the war like a debate.

To ask a politician to lead us is to ask the tail of a dog to lead the dog.

I think that Donald Trump is very concerned about finding the right way to be effective in a responsible way. And he wants to be effective.

I do what I do. Barack Obama does what politicians do.

A politician can do what he thinks is right, he just has to be sophisticated in how he goes about it. Those who seek a president who 'will disregard the polls and just lead,' ask for the political equivalent of 'The Charge of the Light Brigade.'

Politicians are always interested in people. Not that this is always a virtue. Fleas are interested in dogs.

I think we need politicians; we need people who want to serve.

Being prime minister is not a job to be performed with an eye for the exit.

The prime minister's job is to captain his team, his party and his government.

Your personality as the prime minister feeds through to what you emphasise, and what you don't, how you'll handle a situation - whether you've got the combination of intelligence or instincts to adapt and to make good decisions.

This gets back to the fundamental lesson of political survival that Bill Clinton taught me, which is if you make it about the American people's lives instead of your life, you're going to be okay.

I think the American people are looking for real leadership. That's what I've done in Louisiana, that's what I'll do in America.

I'm the guy everybody wanted to live next door. They just didn't want me to be prime minister.

Because the task of a political leader is to do what he believes is better for his country. Sometimes the public opinion is in favor; sometimes the public opinion needs a little bit more time to understand things.

The presidency is more than a popularity contest.

We have too many politicians who are poll-driven to excess. Polls are important. You've got to know what the public is thinking, but you can't let them drive you completely.

Forget the consultants, the pundits and the pollsters; good policy is good politics.