--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think a public official ought to follow…" description: "\"I think a public official ought to follow his conscience as to what is in the public interest, not what will protect his job.\" — Arlen Specter" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10b/arlen-specter-4360_conscience_i-think-a-public-official-ought-to-follo_1252860.png" --- # I think a public official ought to follow his conscience… ![“I think a public official ought to follow his conscience as to what is in the public interest, not what will protect his job.” quote by Arlen Specter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10b/arlen-specter-4360_conscience_i-think-a-public-official-ought-to-follo_1252860.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10b/arlen-specter-4360_conscience_i-think-a-public-official-ought-to-follo_1252860.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10b/arlen-specter-4360_conscience_i-think-a-public-official-ought-to-follo_1252860.png) > “I think a public official ought to follow his conscience as to what is in the public interest, not what will protect his job.” [Arlen Specter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arlen-specter/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Public officials should follow conscience for public interest, not personal job security. **In simple terms:** Officials should prioritize public interest over job safety. Key Takeaway Let conscience guide public service decisions. Themes ethics public service conscience Mood determined serious Type political ethical When to use this quote - government policy - whistleblowing - leadership training Key Concepts political science morality Questions to Reflect On - How can officials protect conscience in politics? - What safeguards ensure public interest prevails? A Different Perspective Political pressure may compromise conscience. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Conscience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conscience/) [Interest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interest/) [Public interest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/public-interest/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [Broadcasters have a responsibility to serve the public interest and protect Americans from objectionable content, particularly during the hours when children are likely to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bart-gordon/broadcasters-have-a-responsibility-to-serve-the-public-interest-and/) [Bart Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bart-gordon/) > [EPA is committed to identifying new tools and providing accurate and up-to-date information to help the American public protect themselves and their families from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-r-wheeler/epa-is-committed-to-identifying-new-tools-and-providing-accurate-and/) [Andrew R. Wheeler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-r-wheeler/) > [You project a version of yourself to the public to protect and insulate yourself a little bit. Actors come up with a version of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-carell/you-project-a-version-of-yourself-to-the-public-to-protect-and/) [Steve Carell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-carell/) > [The public official must pick his way nicely, must learn to placate though not to yield too much, to have the art of honeyed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/learned-hand/the-public-official-must-pick-his-way-nicely-must-learn-to-placate/) [Learned Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/learned-hand/) > [One of the most lethal mistakes a public official can make is raising taxes and not paying your own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-mandel/one-of-the-most-lethal-mistakes-a-public-official-can-make-is-raising/) [Josh Mandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-mandel/) > [As a public official, when I take a position, I stand up to explain and defend it. I file annual financial disclosures, campaign finance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-durbin/as-a-public-official-when-i-take-a-position-i-stand-up-to-explain-and/) [Dick Durbin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-durbin/) > [Good news is not news. Bad news sells. Confrontation sells. And that's what the press is always looking for. I'm not bragging, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-kelly/good-news-is-not-news-bad-news-sells-confrontation-sells-and-that-s/) [Raymond Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-kelly/) > [There's no question that a public official of either party can take it too far, and it's up to the candidate to be able…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-casey-jr/there-s-no-question-that-a-public-official-of-either-party-can-take/) [Bob Casey, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-casey-jr/) > [“No public official should be considered to be above criticism—and the higher up that official is, the more important it is to hold his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/no-public-official-should-be-considered-to-be-above-criticism-and-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It's a rarity when someone takes a political risk in Washington today in the public interest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arlen-specter/it-s-a-rarity-when-someone-takes-a-political-risk-in-washington-today/) [Arlen Specter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arlen-specter/) > [Any public official - regardless of political party - who fails to recognize the problem with devaluing subsections of your constituency is unfit to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-messam/any-public-official-regardless-of-political-party-who-fails-to/) [Wayne Messam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-messam/) > [If you were a public official, you had to be accountable, and you had to be reachable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-jarrell-pickle/if-you-were-a-public-official-you-had-to-be-accountable-and-you-had/) James Jarrell Pickle > [I don't think I've ever met a public official that didn't think he was doing the right thing. I can't think of one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seymour-hersh/i-don-t-think-i-ve-ever-met-a-public-official-that-didn-t-think-he/) [Seymour Hersh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seymour-hersh/) > [I always felt, and I still feel, that the media doesn't belong in a public official's private life. It's a very difficult balance, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudy-giuliani/i-always-felt-and-i-still-feel-that-the-media-doesn-t-belong-in-a/) [Rudy Giuliani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudy-giuliani/) > [I am an African American public official operating in an environment dominated by Caucasians. That is not too dissimilar from what I had to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-espy/i-am-an-african-american-public-official-operating-in-an-environment/) [Mike Espy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-espy/) ## More by Arlen Specter > [I've made a career of being precise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arlen-specter/i-ve-made-a-career-of-being-precise/) [Arlen Specter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arlen-specter/) > [People in government and public life are being kicked around at a high rate of speed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arlen-specter/people-in-government-and-public-life-are-being-kicked-around-at-a/) [Arlen Specter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arlen-specter/) > [Voting is fundamental in our democracy. It has yielded enormous returns.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arlen-specter/voting-is-fundamental-in-our-democracy-it-has-yielded-enormous-returns/) [Arlen Specter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arlen-specter/) > [Do you believe today that the right to privacy does exist in the Constitution?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arlen-specter/do-you-believe-today-that-the-right-to-privacy-does-exist-in-the/) [Arlen Specter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arlen-specter/) > [The solicitor general is sometimes referred to as the 10th Supreme Court justice - a pretty important position.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arlen-specter/the-solicitor-general-is-sometimes-referred-to-as-the-10th-supreme/) [Arlen Specter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arlen-specter/) > [I think it's scandalous that we haven't done more to cure cancer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arlen-specter/i-think-it-s-scandalous-that-we-haven-t-done-more-to-cure-cancer/) [Arlen Specter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arlen-specter/) > [If you are going to have to play defense all the time, you cannot have the kind of ingenuity, assertiveness, independence, and intelligence which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arlen-specter/if-you-are-going-to-have-to-play-defense-all-the-time-you-cannot-have/) [Arlen Specter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arlen-specter/) > [No senator's vote, except for the declaration of war or the authorization for the use of force, is more important than the confirmation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arlen-specter/no-senator-s-vote-except-for-the-declaration-of-war-or-the/) [Arlen Specter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arlen-specter/) > [When the president acts in absence of a congressional grant of authority, he can rely only upon his own independent powers. When the president…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arlen-specter/when-the-president-acts-in-absence-of-a-congressional-grant-of/) [Arlen Specter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arlen-specter/) > [I'd make - before I'd elect somebody - I'd make him do town meetings and face the people and then I would insist that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arlen-specter/i-d-make-before-i-d-elect-somebody-i-d-make-him-do-town-meetings-and/) [Arlen Specter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arlen-specter/) > [As the Republican Party has moved farther and farther to the right, I have found myself increasingly at odds with the Republican philosophy and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arlen-specter/as-the-republican-party-has-moved-farther-and-farther-to-the-right-i/) [Arlen Specter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arlen-specter/) > [I am very much opposed to abortion personally. But I don't think it is the government's rule.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arlen-specter/i-am-very-much-opposed-to-abortion-personally-but-i-don-t-think-it-is/) [Arlen Specter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arlen-specter/) > [As I think through the issue of funding the rebuilding of Iraq, I think about the analogy of a bankruptcy proceeding. There is no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arlen-specter/as-i-think-through-the-issue-of-funding-the-rebuilding-of-iraq-i/) [Arlen Specter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arlen-specter/) > [My definition of winning at squash is playing and surviving, and I've never lost a match.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arlen-specter/my-definition-of-winning-at-squash-is-playing-and-surviving-and-i-ve/) [Arlen Specter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arlen-specter/) > [When I supported the stimulus package, I knew that it would not be popular with the Republican Party.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arlen-specter/when-i-supported-the-stimulus-package-i-knew-that-it-would-not-be/) [Arlen Specter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arlen-specter/) [Explore all 112 Arlen Specter quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arlen-specter/) ## More Conscience quotes > [Self-respect and a clear conscience are powerful components of integrity and are the basis for enriching your relationships with others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-waitley/self-respect-and-a-clear-conscience-are-powerful-components-of/) [Denis Waitley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-waitley/) > [“Knowledge without conscience is but the ruin of the soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabelaise/knowledge-without-conscience-is-but-the-ruin-of-the-soul/) Rabelaise > [Writing adds up to the conscience of our times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-firrell/writing-adds-up-to-the-conscience-of-our-times/) [Martin Firrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-firrell/) > [My conscience is really active. So I feel bad about spending excess amount of money on things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/syd/my-conscience-is-really-active-so-i-feel-bad-about-spending-excess/) [Syd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/syd/) > [Let us be thankful for health and competence, and, above all, for a quiet conscience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/izaak-walton/let-us-be-thankful-for-health-and-competence-and-above-all-for-a/) [Izaak Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/izaak-walton/) > [Making money doesn't oblige people to forfeit their honor or their conscience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-de-rothschild/making-money-doesn-t-oblige-people-to-forfeit-their-honor-or-their/) [Guy de Rothschild](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-de-rothschild/) > [“If we cannot be happy and powerful and prey on others, we invent conscience and prey on ourselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/if-we-cannot-be-happy-and-powerful-and-prey-on-others-we-invent/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [The God in whose hands are all our days and ways, did cast into my hand one day a book of Martin Luthers; it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bunyan/the-god-in-whose-hands-are-all-our-days-and-ways-did-cast-into-my/) [John Bunyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bunyan/) > [My morals are important to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-parrish/my-morals-are-important-to-me/) [Hunter Parrish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-parrish/) > [Being tolerant does not mean that I share another ones belief. But it does mean that I acknowledge another ones right to believe, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-frankl/being-tolerant-does-not-mean-that-i-share-another-ones-belief-but-it/) [Viktor Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-frankl/) > [Never can true courage dwell with them, Who, playing tricks with conscience, dare not look At their own vices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/never-can-true-courage-dwell-with-them-who-playing-tricks-with/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [In presenting a mathematical argument the great thing is to give the educated reader the chance to catch on at once to the momentary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edensor-littlewood/in-presenting-a-mathematical-argument-the-great-thing-is-to-give-the/) [John Edensor Littlewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edensor-littlewood/) > [I've worked with people who are much further to the left than I am and much further to the right than I am. At…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hanks/i-ve-worked-with-people-who-are-much-further-to-the-left-than-i-am/) [Tom Hanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hanks/) > [If all the world hated you and believed you wicked, while your own conscience approved of you and absolved you from guilt, you would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/if-all-the-world-hated-you-and-believed-you-wicked-while-your-own/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [ \[D\]on't grow old. With age comes caution, which is another name for cowardice… Whatever else you do in life, don't cultivate a conscience. Without… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hesketh-pearson/d-on-t-grow-old-with-age-comes-caution-which-is-another-name-for/) [Hesketh Pearson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hesketh-pearson/) [Browse all 3,490 Conscience quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conscience/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think a public official ought to follow his conscience as to what is in the public interest, not what will protect his job.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Arlen Specter" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arlen-specter/i-think-a-public-official-ought-to-follow-his-conscience-as-to-what/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Conscience" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arlen-specter/i-think-a-public-official-ought-to-follow-his-conscience-as-to-what/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10b/arlen-specter-4360_conscience_i-think-a-public-official-ought-to-follo_1252860.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10b/arlen-specter-4360_conscience_i-think-a-public-official-ought-to-follo_1252860.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10b/arlen-specter-4360_conscience_i-think-a-public-official-ought-to-follo_1252860.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I think a public official ought to follow his conscience as to what is in the public interest, not what will…” — Arlen Specter", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Arlen Specter", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arlen-specter/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I think a public official ought...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arlen-specter/i-think-a-public-official-ought-to-follow-his-conscience-as-to-what/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arlen-specter/i-think-a-public-official-ought-to-follow-his-conscience-as-to-what/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```