Author offers advice from notables, presidents

     But Tom Blair, author of What would Ben Say? (Skyhorse Publishing; 2014), wants President Donald Trump to consider the words and thoughts of a variety of political and notable figures. The writer took a full-page ad in The Washington Post today headlined: "Mr. President," and explaining, "In anticipation of Presidents' Day consider the following words of counsel and caution." The ad listed 59 quotes, some focused on honesty and integrity, others on the importance of the presidency. Here are 10:

• "Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it." -- Mark Twain.

• "To announce that there must be no criticism of the president ... is morally treasonable to the American public." --President Theodore Roosevelt.

• "He that is of the opinion money will do everything may well be suspected of doing everything for money." --Benjamin Franklin.

• "I think the first duty of society is justice." -- Alexander Hamilton.

• "The life of the nation is secure only while the nation is honest, truthful and virtuous." --Frederick Douglass.

• "In times like the present, men should utter nothing for which they would not willingly be responsible through time and eternity." --President Abraham Lincoln.

• "It is better to offer no excuse than a bad one." -- President George Washington.

• "Peace is not the absence of conflict, it is the ability to handle conflict by peaceful means." -- President Ronald Reagan.

• "Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity." -- Martin Luther King, Jr.

• "Too often... we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought." -- President John F. Kennedy. 

      Related:

      Senator, governor: Who makes the best prez?

      Hamilton essay: What it takes to be president

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