- The Unknown
Reports that say that something hasn’t happened are always
interesting to me,
Because as we know,
There are known knowns.
There are things we know we know.
We also know
There are known unknowns.
That is to say
We know there are some things
We do not know.
But there are also unknown unknowns,
The ones we don’t know
We don’t know.
[12 February 2002, Department of Defense news
briefing]
- [Osama Bin Laden is] either alive and well or alive and not too well
or not alive.
- I am not going to give you a number for it because it’s not
my business to do intelligent work.
[When asked to estimate the number of Iraqi
insurgents while testifying before Congress]
- I believe what I said yesterday. I don’t know what I said,
but I know what I think, and, well, I assume it's what I said.
- If I said yes, that would then suggest that that might be the only
place where it might be done which would not be accurate, necessarily
accurate. It might also not be inaccurate, but I’m disinclined
to mislead anyone.
- There’s another way to phrase that and that is that the absence
of evidence is not the evidence of absence. It is basically saying the
same thing in a different way. Simply because you do not have evidence
that something does exist does not mean that you have evidence that
it doesn't exist.
- I don’t do quagmires.
- I don’t do diplomacy.
- I don’t do foreign policy.
- I don’t do predictions.
- I don’t do numbers.
- I don’t do book reviews.
- Visit with your predecessors from previous administrations. They
know the ropes and can help you see around some corners. Try to make
original mistakes, rather than needlessly repeating theirs.
- Don’t begin to think you’re the president. You’re
not. The Constitution provides for only one.
- The price of being close to the president is delivering bad news.
You fail him if you don’t tell him the truth. Others won’t
do it.
- You and the White House staff must be and be seen to be above suspicion.
Set the right example.
- Don’t speak ill of your predecessors or successors. You didn’t
walk in their shoes.
- Don’t say “the White House wants.” Buildings can’t
want.
- As you know, you go to war with the army you have, not the army you
might want or wish to have at a later time.
- I would not say that the future is necessarily less predictable than
the past. I think the past was not predictable when it started.
- Don’t begin to think you’re the president. You’re
not. The Constitution provides for only one.
- Learn to say “I don’t know.” If used when appropriate,
it will be often.
- If you are not criticized, you may not be doing much.
- With the press there is no “off the record.”
- Napoleon was asked, “Who do you consider to be the greatest
generals?” He responded, “The victors.”
- Remember: A’s hire A’s and B’s hire C’s.
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