One thing I noticed working in the Bronx is that leaders come in the craziest places. They don't always show up at community board meetings. Sometimes it's just the guys on the corner that the boys on the block respect.
People that are really very weird can get into sensitive positions and have a tremendous impact on history.
Here, anyone can become president. We've had haberdashers, generals, lawyers, peanut farmers, community organizers and a real estate developer, to name a few. But perhaps no one had a better resume than George H.W. Bush.
The Islamic world is obsessed with the notion of strong leaders. This is a mistake. We don't need powerful leaders, but rather unconventional, progressive thinkers with the courage to open our minds.
We have the Terminator as governor, and we had an actor as president, so why shouldn't we have a fashion designer as a senator?
Virtually every advancement made by our species since civilization first peeked out of its nest of stone has been initiated by lone individuals, mavericks who more often than not were ignored, mocked, or viciously persecuted by society and its institutions.
We've had erratic, weird presidents before. America's still here.
It’s precisely the people who are considered the least ‘likely’ leaders who end up inspiring others the most. Everyday people and everyday acts of courage eventually change everything.
The most important voices in American politics often belong to the outsiders, whose who … might stand as a landscape painter from a distance to cast fresh lights
History is rarely made by reasonable men.
God's trustiest lieutenants often lack official credentials. They may be professed atheists who are also men of honour and high public spirit.
The classic rules of American politics are dying, if not dead, if you look at the last two presidential elections. An African-American could never be president until one was; a TV reality star couldn't become president until one was.
