The first method for estimating the intelligence of a ruler is to look at the men he has around him.
George Bush looked into Putin's eyes and saw his soul in the first meeting he had in Slovenia. And then in the next meeting, he realized his soul was very dark.
He [John Adams] is vain, irritable, and a bad calculator of the force and probable effect of the motives which govern men. That is all the ill that can be said of him.
A politician and a government should be judged by one way only: on the record of what you do or did, not on what you say.
A candidate’s command of foreign policy acts as a proxy for assessing broader leadership abilities.
Any American who is prepared to run for president should automatically, by definition, be disqualified from ever doing so.
Our most important, and sometimes most severe, judges are our subordinates.
Presidents need to be critically studied and analyzed.
Well, he can't be dumb, I mean, because he's been president for four years and he's president again, so you're going to get caught out if you're really bad, aren't you? Unless millions and millions of Americans are dumb.
When a general complains of the morale of his troops, the time has come to look at his own.
President Obama started with a much weaker economy than I did. Listen to me now. No president, not me, not any of my predecessors, no one could have fully repaired all the damage that he found in just four years.
The greatness of a leader is measured by the achievements of the led. This is the ultimate test of his effectiveness.
I don't think the first hundred days measures the success or failure of any President.
It has been said that figures rule the world. Maybe. But I am sure that figures show us whether it is being ruled well or badly.
I thought Mike Pence did a fabulous job.
You can say the president's private life takes up so much of his time that he doesn't focus on his job, so therefore he's terrible. But in my imagination, the 23 hours of the day that we don't experience, he's very hard at work. He's quite an effective and successful president - in my narcissistic imagination.
Sharpton is a smart guy. In some ways, he's a good guy. But a moral arbiter? Let's not get carried away.
When I give a man an office, I watch him carefully to see whether he is swelling or growing.
Don't focus on what Trump says. Focus on the results of his actions. Stay in your lane and focus on one particular area.
If the regulars are to be put together, I believe they would prefer me to the other Cavalry Commanders.
It's very difficult to evaluate a leader in a very short-term perspective because to be a leader you must be able to have a long-term perspective. You must be able to carry changes which take many years. And this is why you can really only see whether it has been a good leadership after some years have passed.
We’ve had some great presidents in my lifetime. I haven’t agreed completely with any of them.
It is often constructive to meet with a candidate for a particular office, but I believe what is most important is the candidate's track record.
President Bush's approval ratings have taken somewhat of a dive. A senior slump, if you will. Leading President Bush to one conclusion: He is the only one who realizes what a great job he's being doing.
Bill Clinton is the greatest president of the 20th century because I played touch football with him.
