Mario Cuomo Quotes

It's unusual for elected officials to step outside of the box.

All progress has resulted from people who took unpopular positions.

If you are going to make a change, make it big and bold. Walk up to the biggest guy on the block, stand in his face and get it started. Then go around, brigade by brigade, making it make sense.

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.

In politics, guts is all.

You have to be willing to offend in order to make progress.

The trouble in America is not that we are making too many mistakes, but that we are making too few.

That is what leadership is all about: staking your ground ahead of where opinion is and convincing people, not simply following the popular opinion of the moment.

Politics requires the sense of possibility. Dare I say it - the audacity of hope.

If everyone played it safe, we wouldn't get anywhere.

I do not seek unpopularity as a badge of honor. It is sometimes the price of leadership.

I’m in politics to speak up for a Canada that takes risks, that stands up for what’s right. A Canada that leads.

If I finish my term in office … and have high approval ratings, then I wasted my last years in office. That high approval rating means you don’t upset anybody. High approval rating means you’re skiing down the slope and you never fall. Well, you’re skiing the baby slope, for goodness’ sakes. Go to a steeper slope. You always want to press, and you want to tackle the issues that are unpopular, that nobody else will go after.

I have always stuck my neck out on policy issues.

If you want to change things, it requires bravery.

Fear is a treacherous leader. It shrinks from the new and fails to meet the challenges of the future.

Remember that nothing really important ever happens until someone takes a chance.

The world is starving for original and decisive leadership.

Politics was put in front of me. I do politics because it's the vehicle for change and because I happen to be good at it... I had this sort of calm fearlessness, that some would call foolishness.

It is not easy to stand up against your constituents or your friends or colleagues or your community and take a tough stand for something you believe is right. Because you always want to keep working and live to fight another battle and it might cost you your career.

A leader must have the courage to act against an expert's advice.

It was a big decision to leave the system because many people said I would fail.

Anytime we step out boldly to make changes, we take a chance that we might fail. But the only way to get better is to try.

This business is always changing. If you're going to be a leader, you've got to take chances.