
~Samuel Adams
"Good moral character is the first essential in a man, and that the habits contracted at your age are generally indelible, and your conduct here may stamp your character through life. It is therefore highly important that you should endeavor not only to be learned but virtuous."
~George Washington
“In selecting men for office, let principle be your guide. Regard not the particular sect or denomination of the candidate -- look to his character. . . . When a citizen gives his suffrage to a man of known immorality he abuses his trust; he sacrifices not only his own interest, but that of his neighbor; he betrays the interest of his country.” ~Noah Webster
"If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader." ~John Quincy Adams
Character is power. ~Booker T. Washington
"God grant that men of principle shall be our principal men." ~Thomas Jefferson
"In a president, character is everything. A president doesn't have to be brilliant... He doesn't have to be clever; you can hire clever... You can hire pragmatic, and you can buy and bring in policy wonks. But you can't buy courage and decency, you can't rent a strong moral sense. A president must bring those things with him." ~Peggy Noonan