Share
×
Inspirational Quotes
Authors
Professions
Topics
Tags
Quote
Congress, the press, and the bureaucracy too often focus on how much money or effort is spent, rather than whether the money or effort actually achieves the announced goal.
Donald Rumsfeld
Share
Change background
T
T
T
Change font
Original
TAGS & TOPICS
Donald Rumsfeld
Age: 88 †
Born: 1932
Born: July 9
Died: 2021
Died: June 29
Author
Businessperson
Diplomat
Former U.S. Secretary Of Defense
Military Officer
Politician
Chicago
Illinois
Donald Henry Rumsfeld
Whether
Congress
Often
Achieve
Money
Focus
Achieves
Much
Effort
Announced
Politics
Bureaucracy
Goal
Presses
Actually
Press
Rather
Spent
More quotes by Donald Rumsfeld
Don't speak ill of your predecessors or successors. You didn't walk in their shoes.
Donald Rumsfeld
The purpose of terrorism is to terrorize. It's to change the behavior of the people that are being terrorized.
Donald Rumsfeld
I believe what I said yesterday. I don't know what I said, but I know what I think and I assume it's what I said.
Donald Rumsfeld
Don't divide the world into 'them' and 'us.' Avoid infatuation with or resentment of the press, the Congress, rivals, or opponents. Accept them as facts. They have their jobs and you have yours.
Donald Rumsfeld
Don't necessarily avoid sharp edges. Occasionally they are necessary to leadership.
Donald Rumsfeld
Now, settle down, settle down. Hell, I'm an old man, it's early in the morning and I'm gathering my thoughts here.
Donald Rumsfeld
I don't believe anyone that I know in the administration ever said that Iraq had nuclear weapons.
Donald Rumsfeld
Our task, your task... is to try to connect the dots before something happens. People say, 'Well, where's the smoking gun?' Well, we don't want to see a smoking gun from a weapon of mass destruction.
Donald Rumsfeld
I didn't advocate invasion...I wasn't asked.
Donald Rumsfeld
If you can't solve a problem, make it bigger.
Donald Rumsfeld
No. That's someone else's business. Quagmire is - I don't do quagmires.
Donald Rumsfeld
If you develop rules, never have more than ten.
Donald Rumsfeld
Oh, Lord. I didn't mean to say anything quotable.
Donald Rumsfeld
You might be a cunning linguist, but I am a master debater.
Donald Rumsfeld
The United States isn't going to do anything that it's not capable of doing. And if we do something, we'll be capable of doing it.
Donald Rumsfeld
I think it's very useful for you folks (reporters) to try your damndest to be precise. And don't repeat things that are inaccurate if you can possibly avoid it. And when you see things that are inaccurate, knock them down -- because there's a bucket of it floating around.
Donald Rumsfeld
Most of the 50 or so invitations you receive each week come from people inviting the President's Chief of Staff, not you. If you doubt that, ask your predecessor how many he received last week.
Donald Rumsfeld
Being Vice President is difficult. Don't make it tougher.
Donald Rumsfeld
Reduce the layers of management. They put distance between the top of an organization and the customers.
Donald Rumsfeld
If you foul up, tell the President and correct it fast. Delay only compounds mistakes.
Donald Rumsfeld