(53 quotes found)
“These scandals don't have very much impact on public opinion because opinion couldn't be much worse. They just reinforce what the public already believes.”
Paul Light
“The basic question is, will the public listen to the government in the future, and that's a critically important question. It is entirely possible this could have a significant impact on the public's willingness to listen to their government, police, fire and charity officials in the event of another catastrophe in another city.”
“What were they thinking? You know a hurricane's going to knock down cell phone towers,”
“This is a failure of planning, a failure of anticipation. People in key government agencies at all levels didn't do their jobs, they weren't ready to take the help.”
“I think Bush takes a big hit. He's vulnerable on it, even if it's not totally fair.”
“[The Office of Personnel Management's Plum Book, published at the start of each presidential Administration, shows that there are more than 3,000 positions a President can fill without consideration for civil service rules. And Bush has gone further than most Presidents to put political stalwarts in some of the most important government jobs you've never heard of, and to give them genuine power over the bureaucracy.] These folks are really good at using the instruments of government to promote the President's political agenda, ... And I think that takes you well into the gray zone where few Presidents have dared to go in the past. It's the coordination and centralization that's important here.”
“The scandal isn't greed in the nonprofit sector. The scandal is under-investment in our own organizations. We're not ready to respond to the uncertainties out there.”
“We're not in a 'what' crisis, we are in a 'how' crisis,”
“The way to reassure your own supporters is to talk constantly about results toward your mission.”
“These folks are really good at using the instruments of government to promote the President's political agenda. And I think that takes you well into the gray zone where few Presidents have dared to go in the past. It's the coordination and centralization that's important here.”
