--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Sir, I had rather be right than to be…" description: "\"“Sir, I had rather be right than to be President.”\" — Henry Clay" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c75/henry-clay-13771_patriotism_sir-i-had-rather-be-right-than-to-be-pre_3230418.png" --- # Sir, I had rather be right than to be President. ![“Sir, I had rather be right than to be President.” quote by Henry Clay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c75/henry-clay-13771_patriotism_sir-i-had-rather-be-right-than-to-be-pre_3230418.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c75/henry-clay-13771_patriotism_sir-i-had-rather-be-right-than-to-be-pre_3230418.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c75/henry-clay-13771_patriotism_sir-i-had-rather-be-right-than-to-be-pre_3230418.png) > ““Sir, I had rather be right than to be President.”” [Henry Clay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-clay/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Preferring personal correctness over power highlights the value of integrity over ambition. **In simple terms:** Integrity beats ambition. Key Takeaway Choose truth over position. Themes integrity politics principles Mood thoughtful serious Type political ethical When to use this quote - political campaigns - ethical dilemmas - leadership decisions Key Concepts ethical leadership personal values Questions to Reflect On - Is it worth sacrificing power for correctness? - How does integrity shape public trust? A Different Perspective Choosing integrity may limit influence or career advancement. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Patriotism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patriotism/) [President](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/president/) [Principles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/principles/) [Right](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/right/) [Right President](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/right-president-532945/) [Sir Right](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sir-right-1275667/) [Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trump/) ## Related quotes > [“Sir, I would rather be right than to be President.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-clay/sir-i-would-rather-be-right-than-to-be-president/) [Henry Clay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-clay/) > [I had rather be right than be President.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-clay/i-had-rather-be-right-than-be-president/) [Henry Clay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-clay/) > [I'd rather be right than President.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-clay/i-d-rather-be-right-than-president/) [Henry Clay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-clay/) > [I never worked with Marilyn Monroe, but if she'd lived, I think she would have been all right. She would have been President of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-matthau/i-never-worked-with-marilyn-monroe-but-if-she-d-lived-i-think-she/) [Walter Matthau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-matthau/) > [Barry Goldwater once said, 'I'd rather be right than president.' I can't tell you how much I disagree with that Barry Goldwater.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-dean/barry-goldwater-once-said-i-d-rather-be-right-than-president-i-can-t/) [Howard Dean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-dean/) > [I don't care what anybody says, I think that George Bush is absolutely the right president to oversea the end of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-maron/i-don-t-care-what-anybody-says-i-think-that-george-bush-is-absolutely/) [Marc Maron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-maron/) > [This president can ask us to be patient. This president can tell us it was someone elses fault. This president can tell us that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitt-romney/this-president-can-ask-us-to-be-patient-this-president-can-tell-us-it/) [Mitt Romney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitt-romney/) > [I'm not going to put my lot in with economists, because I know if we get it right, if we actually did it right,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-m-not-going-to-put-my-lot-in-with-economists-because-i-know-if-we/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [Representative William McK. Springer, remarks in the House, quoting Henry Clay: As for me, I would rather be right than be President. Reed: Well,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-vaughan/representative-william-mck-springer-remarks-in-the-house-quoting/) [Bill Vaughan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-vaughan/) > [I would like to introduce right now the next president of the United States, Mr. Joe Walsh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-eagles/i-would-like-to-introduce-right-now-the-next-president-of-the-united/) [The Eagles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-eagles/) > [A man can be right and president, but he can't be both at the same time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/finley-peter-dunne/a-man-can-be-right-and-president-but-he-can-t-be-both-at-the-same-time/) [Finley Peter Dunne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/finley-peter-dunne/) > [I reserve the right, as president of the United States to meet with anybody at a time and place of my choosing if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/i-reserve-the-right-as-president-of-the-united-states-to-meet-with/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [There is not a single person in the national defense apparatus of this country that can guarantee you are going to be 100 percent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/there-is-not-a-single-person-in-the-national-defense-apparatus-of/) [Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/) > [I think with the right leadership on both sides and the right president, we can get a lot done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raja-krishnamoorthi/i-think-with-the-right-leadership-on-both-sides-and-the-right/) [Raja Krishnamoorthi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raja-krishnamoorthi/) > [You are Americans. You love this country. Together we are entrusted with the principles that represent mankind's greatest political and social achievement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tsongas/you-are-americans-you-love-this-country-together-we-are-entrusted/) [Paul Tsongas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tsongas/) ## More by Henry Clay > [“I hope that it will yet be said, America is America's best customer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-clay/i-hope-that-it-will-yet-be-said-america-is-america-s-best-customer/) [Henry Clay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-clay/) > [The arts of power and its minions are the same in all countries and in all ages. It marks its victim; denounces it; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-clay/the-arts-of-power-and-its-minions-are-the-same-in-all-countries-and/) [Henry Clay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-clay/) > [Political parties serve to keep each other in check, one keenly watching the other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-clay/political-parties-serve-to-keep-each-other-in-check-one-keenly/) [Henry Clay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-clay/) > [An oppressed people are authorized whenever they can to rise and break their fetters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-clay/an-oppressed-people-are-authorized-whenever-they-can-to-rise-and/) [Henry Clay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-clay/) > [In a scheme of policy which is devised for a nation, we should not limit our views to its operation during a single year,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-clay/in-a-scheme-of-policy-which-is-devised-for-a-nation-we-should-not/) [Henry Clay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-clay/) > [A nation's character is the sum of its splendid deeds; they constitute one common patrimony, the nation's inheritance. They awe foreign powers, they arouse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-clay/a-nation-s-character-is-the-sum-of-its-splendid-deeds-they-constitute/) [Henry Clay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-clay/) > [Precedents deliberately established by wise men are entitled to great weight. They are evidence of truth, but only evidence...But a solitary precedent...which has never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-clay/precedents-deliberately-established-by-wise-men-are-entitled-to-great/) [Henry Clay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-clay/) > [I have no commiseration for princes. My sympathies are reserved for the great mass of mankind ….](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-clay/i-have-no-commiseration-for-princes-my-sympathies-are-reserved-for/) [Henry Clay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-clay/) > [I had rather be right than be President.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-clay/i-had-rather-be-right-than-be-president/) [Henry Clay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-clay/) > [The Constitution of the United States was made not merely for the generation that then existed, but for posterity- unlimited, undefined, endless, perpetual posterity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-clay/the-constitution-of-the-united-states-was-made-not-merely-for-the/) [Henry Clay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-clay/) > [Honor and good faith and justice are equally due from this country toward the weak as toward the strong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-clay/honor-and-good-faith-and-justice-are-equally-due-from-this-country/) [Henry Clay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-clay/) > [The measure of the wealth of a nation is indicated by the measure of its protection of its industry; the measure of the poverty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-clay/the-measure-of-the-wealth-of-a-nation-is-indicated-by-the-measure-of/) [Henry Clay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-clay/) > [We have had good and bad Presidents, and it is a consoling reflection that the American Nation possesses such elements of prosperity that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-clay/we-have-had-good-and-bad-presidents-and-it-is-a-consoling-reflection/) [Henry Clay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-clay/) > [There is no power like oratory. Caesar controlled men by exciting their fears, Cicero by . . . swaying their passions. The influence of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-clay/there-is-no-power-like-oratory-caesar-controlled-men-by-exciting/) [Henry Clay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-clay/) > [I am not, sir, in favor of cherishing the passion of conquest. I am permitted ... to indulge the hope of seeing, ere long,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-clay/i-am-not-sir-in-favor-of-cherishing-the-passion-of-conquest-i-am/) [Henry Clay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-clay/) [Explore all 49 Henry Clay quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-clay/) ## More Patriotism quotes > [That's what this country is. It's made up of immigrants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bria-vinaite/that-s-what-this-country-is-it-s-made-up-of-immigrants/) [Bria Vinaite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bria-vinaite/) > [You have expressive nationalism, I mean very identity driven, which shaped each other a lot of that in the Middle East.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/subrahmanyam-jaishankar/you-have-expressive-nationalism-i-mean-very-identity-driven-which/) [Subrahmanyam Jaishankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/subrahmanyam-jaishankar/) > [The rich people are apparently leaving America. They're giving up their citizenship. These great lovers of America who made their money in this country-when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/the-rich-people-are-apparently-leaving-america-they-re-giving-up/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [I am not a nationalist in any way, and I hate flag waving, and I don't think much good has come out of nationalism.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stellan-skarsgard/i-am-not-a-nationalist-in-any-way-and-i-hate-flag-waving-and-i-don-t/) [Stellan Skarsgard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stellan-skarsgard/) > [In this choice of inheritance we have given to our frame of polity the image of a relation in blood; binding up the constitution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/in-this-choice-of-inheritance-we-have-given-to-our-frame-of-polity/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [She might be without country, without nation, but inside her there was still a being that could exist and be free, that could simply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-maas/she-might-be-without-country-without-nation-but-inside-her-there-was/) [Sharon Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-maas/) > [To be a Negro in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be in a rage almost all the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-be-a-negro-in-this-country-and-to-be-relatively-conscious-is-to-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Patriotism is a fierce love for the nation’s soul - its land, its people, its core, coupled with a burning contempt for a government…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/njau-kihia/patriotism-is-a-fierce-love-for-the-nation-s-soul-its-land-its-people/) [Njau Kihia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/njau-kihia/) > [There is no patriotic art and no patriotic science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/there-is-no-patriotic-art-and-no-patriotic-science/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Cricket, politics, and cinema is what a majority in our country are most passionate about. They have the power to divide the best of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijay-deverakonda/cricket-politics-and-cinema-is-what-a-majority-in-our-country-are/) [Vijay Deverakonda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijay-deverakonda/) > [“A man full of warm, speculative benevolence may wish his society otherwise constituted than he finds it; but a good patriot, and a true…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/a-man-full-of-warm-speculative-benevolence-may-wish-his-society/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [The Patriot Act is certainly a concern; all of those things are dangerous. I think more important than me preaching is that we as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-clooney/the-patriot-act-is-certainly-a-concern-all-of-those-things-are/) [George Clooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-clooney/) > [Anybody can be good in the country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/anybody-can-be-good-in-the-country/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [I will do everything I can always for my country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felipe-massa/i-will-do-everything-i-can-always-for-my-country/) [Felipe Massa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felipe-massa/) > [All the people in Korea are cheering me like I'm a gold medalist or something, so I have a responsibility to my country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/psy/all-the-people-in-korea-are-cheering-me-like-i-m-a-gold-medalist-or/) [PSY](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/psy/) [Browse all 5,882 Patriotism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patriotism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Sir, I had rather be right than to be President.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Henry Clay" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-clay/sir-i-had-rather-be-right-than-to-be-president/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Patriotism" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-clay/sir-i-had-rather-be-right-than-to-be-president/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c75/henry-clay-13771_patriotism_sir-i-had-rather-be-right-than-to-be-pre_3230418.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c75/henry-clay-13771_patriotism_sir-i-had-rather-be-right-than-to-be-pre_3230418.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c75/henry-clay-13771_patriotism_sir-i-had-rather-be-right-than-to-be-pre_3230418.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Sir, I had rather be right than to be President.” — Henry Clay", "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": "Henry Clay", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-clay/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Sir, I had rather be right...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-clay/sir-i-had-rather-be-right-than-to-be-president/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-clay/sir-i-had-rather-be-right-than-to-be-president/#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 } } ] } ```