The appointing power vested in the president imposes delicate and onerous duties. So far as it is possible to be informed, I shall make honesty, capacity, and fidelity indispensable prerequisites to the disposal of office, and the absence of either of these qualities shall be deemed sufficient cause for removal.
Interpretation
The president bears significant responsibility in appointing officials and should ensure they possess integrity and competence.
This quote by Zachary Taylor emphasizes the gravity of the president's role in appointing individuals to office. It highlights the importance of selecting honest, capable, and loyal candidates for governmental positions, asserting that failure in any of these areas is a valid reason for dismissal, thereby promoting accountability and integrity within leadership.
In practice
In a speech addressing the importance of ethical leadership, one might quote Taylor to stress the necessity of integrity in public office.
As to the Constitution and the Union, I have taken an oath to support the one, and I cannot do so without preserving the other, unless I commit perjury, which I certainly don't intend to do. We must cherish the Constitution to the last.
I am not a party candidate, and if elected cannot be President of a party, but the President of the whole people.
My life has been devoted to arms, yet I look upon war at all times, and under all circumstances, as a national calamity to be avoided if compatible with national honor.
We need to stop telling [women], "Get a mentor and you will excel." Instead, we need to tell them, "Excel and you will get a mentor.
We did not raise armies for glory or for conquest.
You have to take ownership and leadership of tomorrow. For that to be possible, you have to strengthen your capacity and widen your vision as a global citizen.
A movement without vision would be a movement without moral foundation.
I think mentors are important and I don't think anybody makes it in the world without some form of mentorship. Nobody makes it alone. Nobody has made it alone. And we are all mentors to people even when we don't know it.
The most dangerous leadership myth is that leaders are born-that there is a genetic factor to leadership. This myth asserts that people simply either have certain charismatic qualities or not. That's nonsense; in fact, the opposite is true. Leaders are made rather than born.
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