Steve Forbes Quotes

You know, one of the things I think you understand as president is you're held responsible for everything, but you don't always have control of everything, right?

Leaders are responsible not for running public opinion polls but for the consequences of their actions.

The person who manages the state is me.

To govern is to chose.

Lack of accountability in any decision making structure is not tolerable.

Governance is a way of organizing, amplifying, and constraining power.

I wanted the influence. In the end I wasn't very good at being a president. I looked out of the window and thought that the man cutting the lawn actually seemed to have more control over what he was doing.

The key things are about power and about growing up and realizing as you grow up that there are consequences for the choices you make, especially when you get seduced by power.

In the end, as a leader, you are always going to get a combination of two things: what you create and what you allow.

Being president is like running a cemetery: you've got a lot of people under you and nobody's listening.

Politics is about accountability, it is about leadership, it is about courage.

As to mere power I have been for years in the daily exercise of more personal authority than any President habitually enjoys.

Certainly I shall not be one of those who, having gained power, do not wish to use it.

Whether it's a blessing or a curse, it's a fact that we have power. Everyone—friend and enemy—looks to see how we use it, how we treat it, how we keep it.

The people can never understand why the President does not use his powers to make them behave. Well all the president is, is a glorified public relations man who spends his time flattering, kissing, and kicking people to get them to do what they are supposed to do anyway.

Real leadership recognizes the effect of the decisions you make on the people at the bottom.

Everything I did in politics affected somebody.

That's the true meaning of being a leader: being able to deal with the consequences and take the responsibility for it. That's who I want to be.

When I was appointed deputy president, I accepted it, and it is the president's prerogative to appoint or remove anyone to the Executive.

Taking power is fine. But what do you do when you are in power?

I have to just come to work every single day. That's not just on the field but off the field, because you have little kids looking up to you; your face is the face of this franchise and this university. You have to understand that every decision that you make is going to be criticized.

Anyone who has actually had to take responsibility for consequences by running any kind of enterprise whether economic or academic, or even just managing a sports team is likely at some point to be chastened by either the setbacks brought on by his own mistakes or by seeing his successes followed by negative consequences that he never anticipated.

Every decision that affects our lives will be made by the person who has the power to make that decision, not the 'right' person or the 'smartest' person or the 'best' person. Make peace with this fact.

Political action means taking on responsibility. This cannot happen without power. Power is to serve responsibility.

Advisers advise, and ministers decide.