A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus.

A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus.

Leadership should be born out of the understanding of the needs of those who would be affected by it.

Leadership should be born out of the understanding of the needs of those who would be affected by it.

Anyone can hold the helm when the sea is calm.

Anyone can hold the helm when the sea is calm.

The first duty of a leader is to make himself be loved without courting love. To be loved without 'playing read more

The first duty of a leader is to make himself be loved without courting love. To be loved without 'playing up' to anyone - even to himself.

The task of the leader is to get his people from where they are to where they have not been.

The task of the leader is to get his people from where they are to where they have not been.

Whether a man is burdened by power or enjoys power; whether he is trapped by responsibility or made free by read more

Whether a man is burdened by power or enjoys power; whether he is trapped by responsibility or made free by it; whether he is moved by other people and outer forces or moves them -- this is of the essence of leadership.

You don't have to hold a position in order to be a leader.

You don't have to hold a position in order to be a leader.

And lo and behold, people were amazed: Washington was amazed. The country was amazed. And I was amazed that everybody read more

And lo and behold, people were amazed: Washington was amazed. The country was amazed. And I was amazed that everybody was amazed. Because what is going on that a senator doesn't act according to script, acts according to conscience, and everybody is taken aback?

It would be hard to blame you for having trouble taking much of what is said in Washington seriously. You read more

It would be hard to blame you for having trouble taking much of what is said in Washington seriously. You heard about the Medicare actuary who was forced to fudge the numbers and lie to Congress to keep his job. You heard the falsified numbers in Iraq on everything from the cost of the war to the number of trained Iraqi troops to a slam dunk case for weapons of mass destruction. You heard about the administration sponsored fake newscasts to mislead people all across America.