American Leadership Quotes

Since taking office, President Obama has worked to restore a positive vision of American leadership in the world - leadership defined, not by the threats and dangers that we will oppose, but by the security, opportunity and dignity that America advances in partnership with people around the world. ~ John O. Brennan

I think most Americans understand that we went through a period in which American leadership was judged quite critically internationally. ~ Susan Rice

When the world lacks muscular and wise American leadership, it devolves into total chaos, which, in turn, produces unspeakable evils. ~ Monica Crowley

The world is starving for American leadership. But America has an anti-war president, ~ John Boehner

Obama occasionally pointed out that the post–Cold War moment was always going to be transitory. The rest of the world will accede to American leadership, but not dominance. I remember a snippet from a column around 9/11: America bestrides the world like a colossus. Did we? It was a story we told ourselves. Shock and awe. Regime change. Freedom on the march. A trillion dollars later, we couldn't keep the electricity running in Baghdad. The Iraq War disturbed other countries - including U.S. allies - in its illogic and destruction, and accelerated a realignment of power and influence that was further advanced by the global financial crisis. By the time Obama took office, a global correction had already taken place. Russia was resisting American influence. China was throwing its weight around. Europeans were untangling a crisis in the Eurozone.

Obama didn't want to disengage from the world; he wanted to engage more. By limiting our military involvement in the Middle East, we'd be in a better position to husband our own resources and assert ourselves in more places, on more issues. To rebuild our economy at home. To help shape the future of the Asia Pacific and manage China's rise. To open up places like Cuba and expand American influence in Africa and Latin America. To mobilize the world to deal with truly existential threats such as climate change, which is almost never discussed in debates about American national security. ~ Ben Rhodes

Barack Obama has said he doesn't believe in American leadership or America winning - he is wrong. America can win again and we will win again. ~ Ted Cruz

I want American Dream growth - lots of new businesses, well-paying jobs, and American leadership in new industries, like clean energy and biotechnology. ~ William J. Clinton

Instead of begging OPEC to drop its oil prices, let's use American leadership and ingenuity to solve our own energy problems. ~ Pete Domenici

This is American leadership at its best. We stand with people who fight for their own freedom, and we rally other nations on behalf of our common security and common humanity. ~ Barack Obama

Within the narrow confines of Permanent Washington - the journalists, lobbyists, and congressional lifers who are the city's avatars of centrism and continuity - Ford is considered the beau ideal of American leadership. ~ Timothy Noah

American leadership is not simply a matter of going it alone and bearing all of the burden ourselves. ~ Barack Obama

We are witnessing the total collapse of a bad idea. Obamaism, a quasi-socialist commitment to a more powerful government at home and an abdication of American leadership around the world, is being exposed as a historic calamity. It is fueling domestic fear and global disorder and may well lead to a world war. ~ Michael Patrick Goodwin

I talked about the need for American leadership, I talked about the importance of the United States to a more peaceful world, a world that has been quite turbulent in recent years, and needs a strong American anchor. ~ Condoleezza Rice

As you know, I have over the years written critically about the U.N. I have consistently stressed in my writings that American leadership is critical to the success of the U.N., an effective U.N., one that is true to the original intent of its charter's framers. ~ John Bolton

There is simply no substitute for forceful American leadership. Sometimes the best way to get allies is to be willing to forge ahead alone. ~ Rich Lowry

Obama doesn't believe in American leadership and the net result is we have a caliphate the size of Indiana. ~ Jeb Bush

American leadership is essential. ~ Hillary Clinton

Solving the problems of the Middle East and the threat they pose to the world requires a fundamental change in the region's economic profile.9 The international community would have to make a sizable investment - a Marshall Plan in scale - to bring about change of that magnitude. And that requires American leadership. Even if we cannot afford that right now, we still need a clear economic strategy for the region - a plan for using development aid, trade, and investment to help the region and also serve our interests. ~ Vali Nasr

It's the American leadership that has not played the role it should be playing and that leaders in other countries have been playing. ~ Jeffrey Sachs

In Iraq and Syria, American leadership - including our military power - is stopping ISIL's advance, instead of getting dragged into another ground war in the Middle East, we are leading a broad coalition, including Arab nations, to degrade and ultimately destroy this terrorist group. ~ Barack Obama

President Obama is determined that our foreign and national security policies not play into al-Qa'ida's strategy or its warped ideology. Al-Qa'ida seeks to terrorize us into retreating from the world stage. But President Obama has made it a priority to renew American leadership in the world, strengthening our alliances and deepening partnerships. ~ John O. Brennan

When you cut down to the micro-level in the West, I think we have a great deal to be worried about. And it's odd because the American leadership, again in both parties, tends to take comfort in the idea that bin Laden is just an inspirational symbol now. ~ Michael Scheuer

America has receded from the world. Today our friends and allies don't trust us. And our enemies don't fear us. I think we should get back, number one, to American leadership in the world. ~ Ted Cruz

Nobody ever lost a dollar by underestimating the taste of the American public. ~ P.T. Barnum

We have this American president, Obama, born of an African father, who is saying we will not give you aid if you don't embrace homosexuality. We ask, was he born out of homosexuality? We need continuity in our race, and that comes from the woman, and no to homosexuality. ~ Robert Mugabe

Suspense consumes your opponents, whereas mystery intrigues your followers. ~ Matshona Dhliwayo

In 2010 the NRA received $71 million in donations, much of it coming from manufacturers of assault weapons. 74% of their funding comes from corporations. According to Firearm Industry Statistics, there are 465 gun manufacturers in the U.S. The number of guns manufactured in the U.S. increased from 2.9 million in 2001 to almost 5.5 million in 2010. In 2013, guns and ammo sales rose to an estimated $14.7 billion. The NRA isn't fighting for the rights of the average American to own a 30-clip magazine. They're fighting for the rights of gun manufacturers to make and sell them, both in the U.S. and abroad. That's why they spend millions each year to make sure the politicians they bought remain in office. Between ~ Ian Gurvitz

Before any American points a finger at President Putin and calls him nasty names, they should recognize that a lot of Americans agree with Putin on his stance against homosexual and transgender people. ~ Henry Rollins

Whether it was his ability to turn around the Massachusetts economy or turn around businesses in the private sector, Mitt Romney has demonstrated the leadership that we need in the White House to get the country on the right track. ~ Lisa Murkowski

You need to change the questions you ask yourself and of your situations, in order to change the trajectory of your life. These are questions that will help you define and refine your purpose. ~ Archibald Marwizi

Most of my books are set in the American Midwest, where I have always lived. Midwesterners are lovely, down-to-earth people. The luxury of choosing this region as a setting is the endless supply of seasonal change images that accompany it; in addition to, the wide variety of settings, urban and rural, to choose from. ~ Leigh Michaels

Fortunately, in President Obama, the child of an African and an American, we finally have a leader who is uniquely positioned to bridge the great reparations divide. ~ Henry Louis Gates

The American soldiers were brave, but courage is not enough. David did not kill Goliath just because he was brave. He looked up at Goliath and realized that if he fought Goliath's way with a sword, Goliath would kill him. But if he picked up a rock and put it in his sling, he could hit Goliath in the head and knock Goliath down and kill him. David used his mind when he fought Goliath. So did we Vietnamese when we had to fight the Americans. ~ Vo Nguyen Giap

Wisdom from Top Butler: Guard yourself at all times but don't let anyone lead you to live a guarded life that is all. ~ Donavan Nelson Butler

The real value of democracy comes from unity, equal rights and ethical leadership. If we abide by this value, our community can progress without the rise of civil and economic inequality. ~ Saaif Alam

We've all heard that women tolerate sex to get relationships, while men tolerate relationships to get sex. That is simply not true - but there is something truly chilling about the fact that most Americans believe it's true and use this formula as a guide for behavior. ~ Israel Morrow

'American Sniper' is a film that erases history, spectacularizes violence, and reduces war and its aftermath to cheap entertainment, with an underexplained referent to the mental problems many vets live with when they return home from the war. ~ Henry Giroux

One thing I don't understand is that average American movie-goers cannot watch a movie for three hours, yet they'll watch a stupid, boring, horrific football game for four hours. Now, that is boredom at its most colossal. ~ Quentin Tarantino

We need to be discussing issues specifically to help the American people. And that would not include illegal aliens. ~ Joe Wilson

Central to America's rise to global leadership is our Judeo-Christian tradition with the vision of the goodness and possibilities of every human life. ~ Mitt Romney

The distribution of wealth is even more unequal than that of income ... The wealthiest 5% of American households held 54% of all wealth reported in the 1989 survey. Their share rose to 61% in 2010 and reached 63% in 2013. By contrast, the rest of those in the top half of the wealth distribution -families that in 2013 had a net worth between $81,000 and $1.9 million -held 43% of wealth in 1989 and only 36% in 2013. ~ Janet Yellen

Whether you are a business leader or political leader, you need people around you who are prepared to tell the truth. ~ Michael Kroger

Josiah became King of Judah at the age of eight. Joan of Arc led the French Army at nineteen. King Tut led all of Egypt at age nine. Age isn't everything you think it is. Your heart and your spirit speak more than a simple candle count on your birthday cake. ~Tony (Exposing ELE) ~ Rebecca Gober

I did not see myself as a leading lady. I thought I was really funny-looking and I would never be the lead, and I certainly would never do film or television. I wanted to do theater. I wanted to be the grand dame of the American stage. ~ Kathy Baker

American art in general ... takes to surreal exaggerations and metaphors; but its Puritan work ethic has little use for the playful self-indulgence behind Parisian Surrealism. ~ John Updike

There's more emphasis on art and culture in Europe than there is in the United States and I think that a lot of American directors and writers are just trying to copy other American horror films, they don't pick up much in the way that European filmmakers do. ~ Wes Craven

I've never been afraid of the American Nazi Party, on the grounds that anybody dumb enough to pick a name like that is not a serious threat. Any real fascist movement that's a threat, that's serious and really endangers us, would call itself the Red, White, and Blue Christian American Party, or something like that. They wouldn't be dumb enough to call themselves Nazis. ~ Robert Anton Wilson

By this time, around 0745, unknown others were doing the same, whether NCOs or junior officers or, in some cases, privates. Staying on the beach meant certain death; retreat was not possible; someone had to lead; men took the burden on themselves and did. Bingham put it this way: The individual and small-unit initiative carried the day. Very little, if any, credit can be accorded company, battalion, or regimental commanders for their tactical prowess and/or their coordination of the action. ~ Stephen E. Ambrose

Are things getting better with each generation? Yes. It's quite interesting to be living in these times, for me to witness an African-American being elected president. It's quite extraordinary. ~ Lenny Kravitz

[T]he great American statesman devotes his energy, ability, and wisdom to conforming himself and this people to the moral principles that gave this nation birth, are older than anything else in the country's soul, and yet retain the power to make us young again with the vigor of virtue and the zeal for justice. ~ Alan Keyes

It is a pity that so many Americans today think of the Indian as a romantic or comic figure in American history without contemporary significance. In fact, the Indian plays much the same role in our society that the Jews played in Germany. Like the miner's canary, the Indian marks the shift from fresh air to poison gas in our political atmosphere; and our treatment of Indians, even more than our treatment of other minorities, reflects the rise and fall in our democratic faith. ~ Felix S. Cohen

I'm definitely an American, because I grew up here. But I've lived very happily in Britain. ~ Bill Bryson

Learn how to lead, with your body and actions, not words. ~ Francis Shenstone

The main American naval forces were shifted to the Pacific region and an American admiral made a strong declaration to the effect that if war were to break out between Japan and the United States, the Japanese navy could be sunk in a matter of weeks. ~ Hideki Tojo

That is in part because the very words "education reform" indicate that the question is "What's wrong with our schools?" when in reality, the question might be better phrased as "Why do American kids know less than kids from Estonia and Poland?" When you ask the question differently, you look for answers in different places. ~ Steven D. Levitt

I know of no one who would be a good High Commissioner of Palestine except God. ~ John Chancellor

Every American child should grow up knowing a second language, preferably English. ~ Mignon McLaughlin

What's interesting is the show allows for the awkward pauses to be captured, which makes it stylistically unique, especially for American audiences. ~ Rainn Wilson

I think the tragedy of Barack Obama's presidency is that although a lot of people around the world really admire Barack Obama a lot, they don't admire the American political and economic model as much as they used to. ~ Peter Beinart

The only real training for leadership is leadership. ~ Antony Jay

On the national stage and in the neighborhoods of New York, Senator Hillary Clinton has repeatedly put her expertise and power behind solutions that make the lives of the American people safer and more prosperous. ~ Ellen Malcolm

So cotton growers, siphoning from the Ogallala, get three billion dollars a year in taxpayer money for fiber that is shipped to China, where it is used to make cheap clothing sold back to American chain retail stores like Wal-Mart. ~ Timothy Egan

I never thought about how I didn't have a cell phone or I'm in 2011. I was just so happy to be able to be a character in the 30s and there are these actresses that I really liked in the 40s, 50s and 60s in American movies that I've seen since I was a little girl. But you don't really think like that when you prepare for a role. ~ Berenice Bejo

For citizens to become fully engaged in holding their leadership to account, accurate information is required to see where action is needed, to measure the results of policies and programmes, to build support for courageous decisions and to consolidate political legitimacy. ~ Mo Ibrahim

Rome is the city above all cities which loses most of its meaning to those who do not bring to it some historical sense, a decent knowledge of art, and a good amount of time. Rome therefore is particularly disturbing to an American. ~ Clare Boothe Luce

If only we had the power to see ourselves in the same way that others see us.' Of all the mantras one might adopt in life, this is surely one of the better ones and for anyone in a leadership role it should be an essential part of the checks and balances that are built into a company's standard operating procedures. ~ Richard Branson

I'm conscious of race whenever I'm writing, just as I'm conscious of class, religion, human psychology, politics - everything that makes up the human experience. I don't think I can do a good job if I'm not paying attention to what's meaningful to people, and in American culture, there isn't anything that informs human interaction more than the idea of race. ~ Dwayne McDuffie

In American religion, as in ancient Gnosticism, there is almost no sense of God's difference from us - in other words, his majesty, sovereignty, self-existence, and holiness. God is my buddy, my inmost experience, or the power source for my living my best life now. ~ Michael S. Horton

Far too much corporate stupidity is disguised as cost-saving efficiencies. ~ Bill Jensen

The right of every American to first-class citizenship is the most important issue of our time. ~ Jackie Robinson

Congressional Republicans refused to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act because they objected to the protection it gave immigrants, transgender women, and Native American women. (Speaking of epidemics, one of three Native American women will be raped, and on the reservations 88 percent of those rapes are by non-Native men who know tribal governments can't prosecute them. ~ Rebecca Solnit