The functions of the president are prescribed by the Constitution, but his real achievements are not set by the letter of the law. They are determined rather by his personality, the weight of his influence, his capacity for managing men, and the strength and effectiveness of the party forces behind him.
Interpretation
While the Constitution outlines a president's duties, true success comes from personal qualities and political influence.
This quote by Charles A. Beard emphasizes that the official roles of the president as defined by the Constitution are only part of the story. The real impact and achievements of a president stem from their character, leadership abilities, and the support they have from their political party and allies, suggesting that personal influence can be as crucial as legal authority in effective leadership.
In practice
This quote can be used in a discussion about the qualities that make a successful leader in a political debate.
The study of history reveals that human progress has not been continuous and regular, but intermittent and spasmodic, often depending upon apparently accidental causes. It is difficult to get a cross-section view of society at any given stage.
All the lessons of history in four sentences: Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad with power. The mills of God grind slowly, but they grind exceedingly small. The bee fertilizes the flower it robs. When it is dark enough, you can see the stars.
American government did not originate in any abstract theories about liberty and equality, but in the actual experience gained by generation after generation of English colonists in managing their own political affairs. The Revolution did not make a breach in the continuity of their institutional life.
Education from the lowest to the highest form must have for its object the training of the individual so that, in seeking the fullest satisfaction of his own nature, he will harmoniously perform his function as a member of a corporate society.
The organization cannot trust the individual; the individual must trust the organization.
In my experience as CEO, I found that the most important decisions tested my courage far more than my intelligence.
Nothing can be more hurtful to the service, than the neglect of discipline; for that discipline, more than numbers, gives one army the superiority over another.
We have to lock up people, without trial, whether they are communists, whether they are language chauvinists, whether they are religious extremists. If you don’t do that, the country would be in ruins.
I never did anything alone. Whatever was accomplished in this country was accomplished collectively.
Morally, the life of the organization must be of exemplary nature. This is one phase where the organization must not have criticism.
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