Faith & Spirit Quote by Jodi Rell

Power is framed here less as a prize than as a moral debt. Jodi Rell’s language treats public office as “incredible privilege,” a phrase that quietly rebukes the careerist assumption that winning an election is the finish line. The real test, she argues, begins after the oath: “prove ourselves worthy” shifts the spotlight from authority to accountability, from what officials can do to what they must restrain themselves from doing.

The quote’s engine is trust, repeated and tightened into a code of conduct. “We must be trusted” isn’t just a plea for goodwill; it’s an admission that legitimacy is conditional, revocable, and rooted in perception as much as policy. That matters in a political culture where cynicism is a default setting and where one scandal can taint an entire institution. Rell is essentially saying: you don’t get to ask for faith if you’re not willing to earn it daily.

The pairing of “public’s good above our own” with “fairness over favoritism” is pointed, almost prosecutorial. It suggests an awareness of the small, routine corruptions that rarely make headlines: steering contracts, rewarding donors, hiring allies, carving out exceptions. “Favoritism” evokes patronage networks; “fairness” signals equal treatment under the law. The subtext is clear: corruption isn’t only the cash-in-envelope stereotype; it’s also the quiet bending of rules for the right people.

As a politician speaking in the plural, Rell also protects herself. “We” distributes responsibility across government while simultaneously elevating the standard she wants her administration, and her peers, judged by.