Public officers are the servants and agents of the people, to execute the laws which the people have made.
Grover ClevelandRead
In the scheme of our national government, the presidency is preeminently the people's office.
Interpretation
The presidency should serve and represent the interests of the citizens.
This quote by Grover Cleveland emphasizes the fundamental nature of the presidency as a position of service to the public. It highlights that the president's role is not merely one of power, but rather one of responsibility to the people, affirming the idea that the elected leader should always prioritize the needs and concerns of the citizenry over personal or partisan interests.
In practice
In a speech about civic responsibility, one might quote this to highlight the importance of elected officials serving their constituents.
Public officers are the servants and agents of the people, to execute the laws which the people have made.
Unswerving loyalty to duty, constant devotion to truth, and a clear conscience will overcome every discouragement and surely lead the way to usefulness and high achievement.
Though the people support the government; the government should not support the people.
Your every voter, as surely as your chief magistrate, exercises a public trust.
It is the responsibility of the citizens to support their government. It is not the responsibility of the government to support its citizens.
Once the coffers of the federal government are opened to the public, there will be no shutting them again.
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.
...the best leaders are servant leaders - they serve those they lead.
All the years I coached, we sent a card to every professor for each kid I had, and I was able to keep track on a daily basis who cut class or who was dropping a grade average. What I did was bring that kid in at 5:00 in the morning, and he would run the stairs from the bottom to the top until I told him to quit.
Whoever imposes severe punishment becomes repulsive to the people; while he who awards mild punishment becomes contemptible. But whoever imposes punishment as deserved becomes respectable.
Together we resolve that a great nation must care for the vulnerable and protect its people from life's worst hazards and misfortune.
We want to support our troops because they didn't make the decision to go there... but I don't think it should be open-ended. We ought to have a benchmark where the administration has to come back and give us a report.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.