“When a man assumes leadership, he forfeits the right to mercy.”

“I had the closest thing I have ever had to an out-of-body experience lying in bed one morning. I turned on the 'Today' programme and item four on the news was: 'The shadow chancellor has ruled himself out of the leadership.' I lay there thinking that's interesting, then I realised it was me.”

“We need the kind of leadership exemplified by President Kennedy to just do it! But we must do it as good stewards, aggressively exerting control over the moon. We can best do this by going there.”

“In working with UNICEF our corporate partners have demonstrated time and again that their financial resources, leadership and expertise can bring about real and lasting benefits for the world's children.”

“I want to deploy the leadership to meet the challenges that face us and to restore America's greatness.”

“It simply cannot be disputed that for decades the Palestinian leadership was more interested in there not being a Jewish state than in there being a Palestinian state.”

“The public sector certainly includes the Department of Labor. Those are jobs that are available. They are open and they are good paying jobs. The government as a whole has been actually retrenching under President Clinton's leadership.”

“This week you will nominate the most experienced executive to seek the presidency in 60 years in Mitt Romney. He has no illusions about what makes America great, and he doesn't confuse the presidency with celebrity, or loftiness with leadership.”

“Leadership requires the courage to make decisions that will benefit the next generation.”