Jim Himes Quotes

Leadership cannot just go along to get along. Leadership must meet the moral challenge of the day.

I think the greater responsibility, in terms of morality, is where leadership begins.

Will people ever be wise enough to refuse to follow bad leaders …?

I do believe that the buck stops here, that I cannot rely upon public opinion polls to tell me what is right.

Leaders can be moral-and they should be moral-without imposing their morality on others.

There is only one duty, only one safe course, and that is to try to be right and not to fear to do or say what you believe to be right. That is the only way to deserve and to win the confidence of our great people in these days of trouble.

Leaders must live by higher standards than their followers.

It takes courage to speak up against complacency and injustice while others remain silent. But that's what leadership is.

We need moral leadership and courage in our world.

Leaders should be the chief repenters.

Politicians must set their aims for the high ground and according to our various leanings, Democratic, Republican, Independent, we will follow. Politicians must be told if they continue to sink into the mud of obscenity, they will proceed alone.

Moral authority is never retained by any attempt to hold on to it. It comes without seeking and is retained without effort.

Every leader has the responsibility to hone his or her integrity. Many times, there are integrity traps that have a tendency to catch well-meaning leaders off guard.

The President was a responsibility beyond that of managing the government. He has a responsibility as a moral leader.

Leadership is not manifested by coercion, even against the resented. Greatness is not manifested by unlimited pragmatism, which places such a high premium on the end justifying any means and any methods.

There are no good and bad peoples; there are only leaderships that behave responsibly or insanely.

The question before the United States is whether the magnitude of its power will eclipse the light by which it was founded, or whether it will use its power to serve greater light. Does it seek mastery to dominate or mastery to serve?

I know I've done the right thing but I couldn't feel worse about it, and I suppose that is part of what it is to lead.

If you are going to be a leader, you must have a record where people saw you are standing up against injustice at a risk. Then that builds up your stock of credibility so that, when you speak on another occasion about a different thing, people will pay attention.

Yes, I did have to struggle very hard to get this [the vote on the Iraq war] through, but the reason I did it was because I thought it was the right thing to do. I didn't take this on myself... just because I thought, 'Let's give myself a really hard time for a couple of years!'

Those who really deserve praise are the people who, while human enough to enjoy power, nevertheless pay more attention to justice than they are compelled to do by their situation.

Those called to the service of governance in the church need to have a strong sense of justice, so that any form of injustice becomes unacceptable.

The best state is that in which bad men are not allowed to hold office, and good men are not allowed to refuse office.

Power doesn't always corrupt. Power can cleanse. What I believe is always true about power is that power always reveals.