20 Adlai Stevenson Quotes on Leadership

Adlai Stevenson quotes on leadership

9. What counts now is not just what we are against, but what we are for. Who leads us is less important than what leads us - what convictions, what courage, what faith - win or lose. A man doesn't save a century, or a civilization, but a militant party wedded to a principle can.

10. Let's face it. Let's talk sense to the American people. Let's tell them the truth, that there are no gains without pains, that we are now on the eve of great decisions, not easy decisions, like resistance when you're attacked, but a long, patient, costly struggle which alone can assure triumph over the great enemies of man - war, poverty, and tyranny - and the assaults upon human dignity which are the most grievous consequences of each.

11. We talk a great deal about patriotism. What do we mean by patriotism in the context of our times? I venture to suggest that what we mean is a sense of national responsibility which will enable America to remain master of her power - to walk with it in serenity and wisdom, with self-respect and the respect of all mankind; a patriotism that puts country ahead of self; a patriotism which is not short, frenzied outbursts of emotion, but the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime. The dedication of a lifetime - these are words that are easy to utter, but this is a mighty assignment. For it is often easier to fight for principles than to live up to them.

25. The Republicans have a 'me too' candidate running on a 'yes but' platform, advised by a 'has been' staff.

32. It is an ancient political vehicle, held together by soft soap and hunger and with front-seat drivers and back-seat drivers contradicting each other in a bedlam of voices, shouting 'go right' and 'go left' at the same time.

37. I have tried to talk about the issues in this campaign... But, strangely enough, my friends, this road has been a lonely road because I never meet anybody coming the other way.

46. In matters of national security emotion is no substitute for intelligence, nor rigidity for prudence. To act coolly, intelligently and prudently in perilous circumstances is the test of a man - and also a nation.

54. I'm not an old, experienced hand at politics. But I am now seasoned enough to have learned that the hardest thing about any political campaign is how to win without proving that you are unworthy of winning.

55. I have learned that In quiet places, reason abounds, that in quiet people there is vision and purpose, that many things are revealed to the humble that are hidden from the great.

56. Every age needs men who will redeem the time by living with a vision of the things that are to be.

63. With the supermarket as our temple and the singing commercial as our litany, are we likely to fire the world with an irresistible vision of America's exalted purpose and inspiring way of life?

64. The elephant has a thick skin, a head full of ivory, and as everyone who has seen a circus parade knows, proceeds best by grasping the tail of its predecessor.

67. She would rather light a candle than curse the darkness, and her glow has warmed the world.

72. A politician is a statesman who approaches every question with an open mouth.

73. Nixon is the kind of politician who would cut down a redwood tree, then mount the stump for a speech on conservation.

83. There are worse things than losing an election; the worst thing is to lose one's convictions and not tell the people the truth.

93. It's hard to lead a cavalry charge if you think you look funny on a horse.

105. President Eisenhower continues to amaze me. He appears to be an ungainly and graceless man, but when senator Robert Taft makes a move, no matter how ridiculous, Eisenhower copies it with the skill of French mime Marcel Marceau. I haven't achieved such levels of mimicry with my own party, but I'm working on it.

110. He had that quality for which the Africans, who know how to appreciate it, have found a special term. 'Nommo' is the Bantu word for the gift of making life rather larger and more vivid for everyone else.

111. He was one of the most admired men of his time - and one of the most perplexing, a paradox within himself. Twice he sought his nation's highest office; yet he always thought of the presidency as a 'dread responsibility.' He was a politician without a politician's ways; instead of grinning gamely when, during one of his campaigns, a little girl handed him a stuffed baby alligator, Stevenson could only gape and exclaim, 'For Christ's sake, what's this?' He was a man of rare humor, often expressed in self-deprecating terms. Responding to criticism that he was too intellectual, that he talked over the heads of the voters, he tossed out a Latinism: Via ovum cranium difficilis est (The way of the egghead is hard).