Effective Governance Quotes

Politics is the art of the possible, the attainable, the art of the next best.

Make but few laws but see them well observed when once made.

Conquering the world on horseback is easy; it is dismounting and governing that is hard.

Good laws, if they are not obeyed, do not constitute good government.

You can no more have a fool as a king than a blind man to lead you along the road

Your personality as the prime minister feeds through to what you emphasise, and what you don't, how you'll handle a situation - whether you've got the combination of intelligence or instincts to adapt and to make good decisions.

If two parties with two sets of bad ideas cooperate, the result is not good policy, but policy that is extremely bad. What we really need are correct economic and politcal ideas, regardless of the party that pushes them.

Those who are successfully to lead their fellow-men, should have once possessed the nobler feelings. We have all known individuals whose magnanimity was not likely to be troublesome on any occasion; but then they betrayed their own interests by unwisely omitting the consideration, that such feelings might exist in the breasts of those whom they had to guide and govern: for they themselves cannot even remember the time when in their eyes justice appeared preferable to expediency, the happiness of others to self-interest, or the welfare of a State to the advancement of a party.

Governments tend not to solve problems, only to rearrange them.

The nation should have a tax system that looks like someone designed it on purpose.

We just need leaders in Congress who are honest with the American people.

Democracy sounded well and good, but its results are seen not to agree at all with its title. Monarchy, on the contrary, has an unpleasant sound, but is a more practical form of government to live under. For it is easier to find a single excellent man, than to find many of them.

He can't spend all his time running his mouth; he's got to run the country.

Maybe strong leaders are not quite as alluring as we think, and we should celebrate the fact that our leaders are just like us. Just because one candidate can't remember his whole speech and the other likes to put his feet up on the job doesn't mean they can't govern.

He [the king] must also appoint other officials, men of integrity, who are wise, firm, well able to collect money, and well tried.

To govern well, one must see things as they are.

Do not adopt the best system of government, but the one most likely to succeed.

People can expect that from me as premier: If there's something to be done, something to be fixed, it'll happen.

The Constitution is an equally forthright piece of work and quite succinct ... giving the complete operating instructions for a nation of 250 million people. The manual for a Toyota Camry, which only seats five, is four times as long.

We need a new government that works.

Successful reform requires a long-term vision, driven by political leadership.

Our plan will not favor religious institutions over nonreligious institutions. As president, I'm interested in what is constitutional and I'm interested in what works.

To rule without being felt…is the great mystery of policy.

There are different ways to get responsive government leaders but one of the more effective ways is to have them democratically elected.

I don't think Michael Bloomberg would say that his greatest skill is delivering the speech. He would say he's more of a nuts-and-bolts mayor-picking up the trash, dealing with the school system.