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Well, so be it. Nothing's perfect in life, so you have an election that's not quite perfect. Is it better than not having an election? You bet.

Donald Rumsfeld

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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
Nothing
Life
Election
Quite
Perfect
Better
Wells
Well

More quotes by Donald Rumsfeld

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One of your tasks is to separate the 'personal' from the 'substantive.' The two can become confused, especially if someone rubs the President wrong.
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Don't automatically obey Presidential directives if you disagree or if you suspect he hasn't considered key aspects of the issue.
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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.
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Plan backwards as well as forward. Set objectives and trace back to see how to achieve them. You may find that no path can get you there. Plan forward to see where your steps will take you, which may not be clear or intuitive.
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The purpose of terrorism is to terrorize. It's to change the behavior of the people that are being terrorized.
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Don't speak ill of your predecessors or successors. You didn't walk in their shoes.
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Success tends to go not to the person who is error-free, because he also tends to be risk-averse. Rather it goes to the person who recognizes that life is pretty much a percentage business. It isn't making mistakes that's critical it's correcting them and getting on with the principal task.
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It is very difficult to spend federal (the taxpayers') dollars so that the intended result is achieved.
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Let your family, staff, and friends know that you're still the same person, despite all the publicity and notoriety that accompanies your position.
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I don't believe anyone that I know in the administration ever said that Iraq had nuclear weapons.
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Control your own time. Don't let it be done for you. If you are working off the in-box that is fed you, you are probably working on the priority of others.
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I didn't advocate invasion...I wasn't asked.
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Don't be a bottleneck. If a matter is not a decision for the President or you, delegate it. Force responsibility down and out. Find problem areas, add structure and delegate. The pressure is to do the reverse. Resist it.
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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.
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Being Vice President is difficult. Don't make it tougher.
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With the press there is no off the record.
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No. That's someone else's business. Quagmire is - I don't do quagmires.
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I don't know anybody that I can think of who has contended that the Iraqis had nuclear weapons.
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When starting at the bottom, be willing to learn from those at the top.
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Look for what's missing. Many advisors can tell a President how to improve what's proposed or what's gone amiss. Few are able to see what isn't there.
Donald Rumsfeld