--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Here's what people should look at as they…" description: "\"Here's what people should look at as they look at a public servant. Do they have a passion in their life that showed up before they were in public life..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a76/tim-kaine-1918_failing_here-s-what-people-should-look-at-as-the_1977601.jpg" --- # Here's what people should look at as they look at a public… ![“Here's what people should look at as they look at a public servant. Do they have a passion in their life that showed up before they were in public life? And have they held onto that passion throughout their life, regardless of whether they were in office or not, succeeding or failing?” quote by Tim Kaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a76/tim-kaine-1918_failing_here-s-what-people-should-look-at-as-the_1977601.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a76/tim-kaine-1918_failing_here-s-what-people-should-look-at-as-the_1977601.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a76/tim-kaine-1918_failing_here-s-what-people-should-look-at-as-the_1977601.jpg) > “Here's what people should look at as they look at a public servant. Do they have a passion in their life that showed up before they were in public life? And have they held onto that passion throughout their life, regardless of whether they were in office or not, succeeding or failing?” [Tim Kaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-kaine/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A true public servant’s lasting passion should be evident before and throughout their career, regardless of success or failure. **In simple terms:** Look for consistent, lifelong passion in leaders. Key Takeaway Check for enduring passion. Themes leadership integrity public service Mood thoughtful analytical Type evaluative inspirational When to use this quote - voting decisions - candidate interviews - policy debates Key Concepts character consistency motivation Questions to Reflect On - How can voters assess a candidate’s lifelong passion? - What signs indicate genuine commitment? A Different Perspective Passion may be hidden or change over time. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Failing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failing/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Look Public](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/look-public-2028271/) [Office](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/office/) [Passion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passion/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Public life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/public-life/) [Public Servant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/public-servant/) [Servant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/servant/) [Servant Passion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/servant-passion-266754/) [Succeed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/succeed/) [Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trump/) ## Related quotes > [Here's what people should look at as they look at a public servant. Do they have a passion in their life that showed up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-kaine/here-s-what-people-should-look-at-as-they-look-at-a-public-servant-do/) [Tim Kaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-kaine/) > [Look, when you're in the public life you have to understand, the press - good bad or indifferent - is going to chase you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-capuano/look-when-you-re-in-the-public-life-you-have-to-understand-the-press/) [Michael Capuano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-capuano/) > [Many people will say, well, clothes should be worn; but I think people can look at them in public, like seeing a film. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/issey-miyake/many-people-will-say-well-clothes-should-be-worn-but-i-think-people/) [Issey Miyake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/issey-miyake/) > [I think that the best profession or the best thing to do is to be a public servant... I mean there's nothing better than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-schwarzenegger/i-think-that-the-best-profession-or-the-best-thing-to-do-is-to-be-a/) [Arnold Schwarzenegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-schwarzenegger/) > [A good king is a public servant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/a-good-king-is-a-public-servant/) [Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/) > [I am a career public servant. Until the aftermath of Benghazi, I loved every day of my job.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-hicks/i-am-a-career-public-servant-until-the-aftermath-of-benghazi-i-loved/) [Greg Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-hicks/) > [Mitch McConnell, 72, is second only to Henry Clay as the state'€™s most consequential public servant. McConnell's skills have been honed through five terms.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/mitch-mcconnell-72-is-second-only-to-henry-clay-as-the-state-s-most/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [My dad is a lifelong public servant; my mom was a public-school teacher - it's in my DNA.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-biden/my-dad-is-a-lifelong-public-servant-my-mom-was-a-public-school/) [Ashley Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-biden/) > [Walt Shaub is a dedicated public servant, has come up through the ranks under both Democrats and Republicans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reince-priebus/walt-shaub-is-a-dedicated-public-servant-has-come-up-through-the/) [Reince Priebus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reince-priebus/) > [No public servant or legislator can claim any privacy to take money for conducting their official functions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prashant-bhushan/no-public-servant-or-legislator-can-claim-any-privacy-to-take-money/) [Prashant Bhushan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prashant-bhushan/) > [Being a public servant, this is a serious job, not like a boxer, you're entertaining people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manny-pacquiao/being-a-public-servant-this-is-a-serious-job-not-like-a-boxer-you-re/) [Manny Pacquiao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manny-pacquiao/) > [I want to be a public servant, not a politician.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-sestak/i-want-to-be-a-public-servant-not-a-politician/) [Joe Sestak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-sestak/) > [I fell far short of living up to the kind of public servant I wanted to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-mcclellan/i-fell-far-short-of-living-up-to-the-kind-of-public-servant-i-wanted/) [Scott McClellan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-mcclellan/) > [The first lady is, and always has been, an unpaid public servant elected by one person, her husband.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lady-bird-johnson/the-first-lady-is-and-always-has-been-an-unpaid-public-servant/) [Lady Bird Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lady-bird-johnson/) > [Today, more than ever, citizens demand with good reason that moral and ethical principles be upheld and that exemplariness preside over our public life.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/king-felipe-vi/today-more-than-ever-citizens-demand-with-good-reason-that-moral-and/) [King Felipe VI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/king-felipe-vi/) ## More by Tim Kaine > [People will pay a price for putting political obstruction over progress in a time that is so critical and urgent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-kaine/people-will-pay-a-price-for-putting-political-obstruction-over/) [Tim Kaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-kaine/) > [You build the bonds through the community and police force, build bonds of understanding, and then when people feel comfortable in their communities, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-kaine/you-build-the-bonds-through-the-community-and-police-force-build/) [Tim Kaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-kaine/) > [My sense is, as governor I've gotten a lot of stuff done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-kaine/my-sense-is-as-governor-i-ve-gotten-a-lot-of-stuff-done/) [Tim Kaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-kaine/) > [I will always be a partner with the president of the United States.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-kaine/i-will-always-be-a-partner-with-the-president-of-the-united-states/) [Tim Kaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-kaine/) > [ This is one where you can just kind of go to the tape on it. But Governor \[Mike\] Pence said inarguably Vladimir Putin is… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-kaine/this-is-one-where-you-can-just-kind-of-go-to-the-tape-on-it-but/) [Tim Kaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-kaine/) > [America should really wonder about a President Trump, who had a campaign manager with ties to Putin, pro-putin elements in the Ukraine who had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-kaine/america-should-really-wonder-about-a-president-trump-who-had-a/) [Tim Kaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-kaine/) > [Bill of Rights was Madison, I'm going with Madison.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-kaine/bill-of-rights-was-madison-i-m-going-with-madison/) [Tim Kaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-kaine/) > [No bill works if it doesn't work in a zip code where somebody lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-kaine/no-bill-works-if-it-doesn-t-work-in-a-zip-code-where-somebody-lives/) [Tim Kaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-kaine/) > [The Trump campaign management team had to be fired a month or so ago because of those shadowy connections with pro-Putin forces. Governor Pence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-kaine/the-trump-campaign-management-team-had-to-be-fired-a-month-or-so-ago/) [Tim Kaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-kaine/) > [The permanent institutional expertise class is now no longer the legislators, it's the lobbyists who don't have term limits and are there forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-kaine/the-permanent-institutional-expertise-class-is-now-no-longer-the/) [Tim Kaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-kaine/) > [You know, boy, America is a closely divided country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-kaine/you-know-boy-america-is-a-closely-divided-country/) [Tim Kaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-kaine/) > [If you don't know the difference between dictatorship and leadership then you got to go back to a fifth grade civics class.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-kaine/if-you-don-t-know-the-difference-between-dictatorship-and-leadership/) [Tim Kaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-kaine/) > [I just want to serve people. I know it sounds like a simple cliche.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-kaine/i-just-want-to-serve-people-i-know-it-sounds-like-a-simple-cliche/) [Tim Kaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-kaine/) > [I am deeply worried about Donald Trump on matters of national security. He doesn't know anything himself about it, and he has appointed a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-kaine/i-am-deeply-worried-about-donald-trump-on-matters-of-national/) [Tim Kaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-kaine/) > [I say we are climbing out of a ditch and we are climbing up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-kaine/i-say-we-are-climbing-out-of-a-ditch-and-we-are-climbing-up/) [Tim Kaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-kaine/) [Explore all 198 Tim Kaine quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-kaine/) ## More Failing quotes > [Many individuals spend a considerable portion of their lifetimes in terror of one imagined catastrophe or another. The classic is that your immortal soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/many-individuals-spend-a-considerable-portion-of-their-lifetimes-in/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [Apologies are not pass/fail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-pausch/apologies-are-not-pass-fail/) [Randy Pausch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-pausch/) > [Trial by jury. Live wherever you can make a living. How could a government based on such principles fail?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-ambrose/trial-by-jury-live-wherever-you-can-make-a-living-how-could-a/) [Stephen Ambrose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-ambrose/) > [Each man is capable of doing one thing well. If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [My willingness to fail gives me the ability to succeed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vinod-khosla/my-willingness-to-fail-gives-me-the-ability-to-succeed/) [Vinod Khosla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vinod-khosla/) > [I would warn against holsters with devices for quick-draw. Devices always fail when you need them most.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-powell/i-would-warn-against-holsters-with-devices-for-quick-draw-devices/) [William Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-powell/) > [You can’t bake a cake without getting the kitchen messy. Halfway through surgery it looks like there’s been a murder in the operating room.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/price-pritchett/you-can-t-bake-a-cake-without-getting-the-kitchen-messy-halfway/) [Price Pritchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/price-pritchett/) > [We can't afford any president to fail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-beck/we-can-t-afford-any-president-to-fail/) [Glenn Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-beck/) > [When I paint, I never think of selling. People simply fail to understand that we paint in order to experiment and to develop ourselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edvard-munch/when-i-paint-i-never-think-of-selling-people-simply-fail-to/) [Edvard Munch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edvard-munch/) > [Either dragons should exist completely or fail to exist at all, he felt. A dragon only half-existing was worse than the extremes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/either-dragons-should-exist-completely-or-fail-to-exist-at-all-he/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [I wake up every morning fearing I am going to fail. But I love a challenge, big or small. There's so much I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-mone/i-wake-up-every-morning-fearing-i-am-going-to-fail-but-i-love-a/) [Michelle Mone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-mone/) > [What I want is to be willing to fail rather than stagnate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-dickey/what-i-want-is-to-be-willing-to-fail-rather-than-stagnate/) [James Dickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-dickey/) > [In proportion as our inward life fails, we go more constantly and desperately to the post office. You may depend on it, that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/in-proportion-as-our-inward-life-fails-we-go-more-constantly-and/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The very first company I started failed with a great bang. The second one failed a little bit less, but still failed. The third…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-levchin/the-very-first-company-i-started-failed-with-a-great-bang-the-second/) [Max Levchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-levchin/) [Browse all 5,634 Failing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failing/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Here's what people should look at as they look at a public servant. Do they have a passion in their life that showed up before they were in public life? And have they held onto that passion throughout their life, regardless of whether they were in office or not, succeeding or failing?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tim Kaine" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-kaine/here-s-what-people-should-look-at-as-they-look-at-a-public-servant-do-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Failing" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-kaine/here-s-what-people-should-look-at-as-they-look-at-a-public-servant-do-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a76/tim-kaine-1918_failing_here-s-what-people-should-look-at-as-the_1977601.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a76/tim-kaine-1918_failing_here-s-what-people-should-look-at-as-the_1977601.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a76/tim-kaine-1918_failing_here-s-what-people-should-look-at-as-the_1977601.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Here's what people should look at as they look at a public servant. Do they have a passion in their life…” — Tim Kaine", "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": "Tim Kaine", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-kaine/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Here's what people should look at...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-kaine/here-s-what-people-should-look-at-as-they-look-at-a-public-servant-do-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-kaine/here-s-what-people-should-look-at-as-they-look-at-a-public-servant-do-2/#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 } } ] } ```