--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Good policy always trumps bad public…" description: "\"Good policy always trumps bad public relations and the best PR can't trump bad policy.\" — Bob Schieffer" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ad/bob-schieffer-10581_policy_good-policy-always-trumps-bad-public-rel_2266458.png" --- # Good policy always trumps bad public relations and the… ![“Good policy always trumps bad public relations and the best PR can't trump bad policy.” quote by Bob Schieffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ad/bob-schieffer-10581_policy_good-policy-always-trumps-bad-public-rel_2266458.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ad/bob-schieffer-10581_policy_good-policy-always-trumps-bad-public-rel_2266458.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ad/bob-schieffer-10581_policy_good-policy-always-trumps-bad-public-rel_2266458.png) > “Good policy always trumps bad public relations and the best PR can't trump bad policy.” [Bob Schieffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-schieffer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Good policies create lasting trust, while PR can only temporarily mask poor decisions. **In simple terms:** Policy matters more than PR. Key Takeaway Focus on solid policies. Themes ethics leadership communication Mood cautious analytical Type advisory critical When to use this quote - corporate crisis - government regulation - public campaigns Key Concepts trust integrity reputation Questions to Reflect On - Can PR ever truly fix a broken policy? - What policy changes would improve public trust? A Different Perspective PR can sometimes outweigh weak policy in short term. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bad Policy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-policy-277354/) [Best Pr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/best-pr-2095972/) [Good Policy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-policy-677405/) [Policy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/policy/) [Policy Trumps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/policy-trumps-5235271/) [Public relations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/public-relations/) [Relation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relation/) [Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trump/) ## Related quotes > [Bad administration, to be sure, can destroy good policy, but good administration can never save bad policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adlai-stevenson-i/bad-administration-to-be-sure-can-destroy-good-policy-but-good/) [Adlai Stevenson I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adlai-stevenson-i/) > [Let's not build the policy around the abuse. That's not good policy. That's actually bad policy. Build the policy around the aspiration point. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamala-harris/let-s-not-build-the-policy-around-the-abuse-that-s-not-good-policy/) [Kamala Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamala-harris/) > [I'm the best PR ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michele-lamy/i-m-the-best-pr-ever/) [Michele Lamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michele-lamy/) > [Apple has great marketing, among the best PR and marketing in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-johnson/apple-has-great-marketing-among-the-best-pr-and-marketing-in-the-world/) [Ron Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-johnson/) > [In so many of the other beats these days, there are these layers of public relations people that you have to go through to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-schieffer/in-so-many-of-the-other-beats-these-days-there-are-these-layers-of/) [Bob Schieffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-schieffer/) > [It is bad policy to regulate everything... where things may better regulate themselves and can be better promoted by private exertions; but it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-list/it-is-bad-policy-to-regulate-everything-where-things-may-better/) [Friedrich List](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-list/) > [“The problem with car insurance is that you never know how bad your policy is until you are involved in a car crash. At…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/the-problem-with-car-insurance-is-that-you-never-know-how-bad-your/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [“I never take out clients. It’s bad policy.” He looked me straight in the eyes as he said it. Reaching across for the glove…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-black/i-never-take-out-clients-it-s-bad-policy-he-looked-me-straight-in-the/) [Gabrielle Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-black/) > [It's bad policy to speculate on what you'll do if a plan fails when you're trying to make a plan work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/condoleezza-rice/it-s-bad-policy-to-speculate-on-what-you-ll-do-if-a-plan-fails-when/) [Condoleezza Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/condoleezza-rice/) > [“Revenge is a bad policy if you gain nothing out of it, but under the same circumstances, forgiveness is even a worse one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/revenge-is-a-bad-policy-if-you-gain-nothing-out-of-it-but-under-the/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [Senator Frist is a good man, he's simply advocating a bad policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-delay/senator-frist-is-a-good-man-he-s-simply-advocating-a-bad-policy/) [Tom DeLay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-delay/) > [I don't know that I would need to be famous as a Middle East policy expert to see that unilateral imperialism is bad policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janeane-garofalo/i-don-t-know-that-i-would-need-to-be-famous-as-a-middle-east-policy/) [Janeane Garofalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janeane-garofalo/) > [There are too many bad policy choices to go into that are being pushed by the Trump Administration, but the relaxation of environmental regulations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shepard-fairey/there-are-too-many-bad-policy-choices-to-go-into-that-are-being/) [Shepard Fairey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shepard-fairey/) > [I lost two very good-paying jobs, destroyed because of NAFTA. We know how detrimental that bad policy can be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-robinson/i-lost-two-very-good-paying-jobs-destroyed-because-of-nafta-we-know/) [Mark Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-robinson/) > [I voted against the creation of ICE. However, changing who enforces bad policy now doesn't fix that bad policy and it won't bring families…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-capuano/i-voted-against-the-creation-of-ice-however-changing-who-enforces-bad/) [Michael Capuano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-capuano/) ## More by Bob Schieffer > [Whether or not the President is sleeping well won't be a factor in his re-election. That will depend on what he does while he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-schieffer/whether-or-not-the-president-is-sleeping-well-won-t-be-a-factor-in/) [Bob Schieffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-schieffer/) > [When Sam Snead was asked how to putt, he said, 'Putt for one hundred dollars'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-schieffer/when-sam-snead-was-asked-how-to-putt-he-said-putt-for-one-hundred/) [Bob Schieffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-schieffer/) > [They've asked me to do this temporarily. I don't know what temporarily means. Life is temporary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-schieffer/they-ve-asked-me-to-do-this-temporarily-i-don-t-know-what-temporarily/) [Bob Schieffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-schieffer/) > [I always thought writing was the foundation and the basis for journalism in the same way being able to draw is the foundation for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-schieffer/i-always-thought-writing-was-the-foundation-and-the-basis-for/) [Bob Schieffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-schieffer/) > [My bladder cancer was related to smoking, and I think smoking kills people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-schieffer/my-bladder-cancer-was-related-to-smoking-and-i-think-smoking-kills/) [Bob Schieffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-schieffer/) > [I've had a lot of fun, and when I talk to kids in journalism schools, I say, look, I know what the journalism teachers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-schieffer/i-ve-had-a-lot-of-fun-and-when-i-talk-to-kids-in-journalism-schools-i/) [Bob Schieffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-schieffer/) > [I had - all my life, everybody who knew me thought that I would probably grow up to be a reporter, a newspaper reporter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-schieffer/i-had-all-my-life-everybody-who-knew-me-thought-that-i-would-probably/) [Bob Schieffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-schieffer/) > [I guess the worst snow was the Kennedy inauguration in 1960. Heavy snow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-schieffer/i-guess-the-worst-snow-was-the-kennedy-inauguration-in-1960-heavy-snow/) [Bob Schieffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-schieffer/) > [Talk about threats to national security -- how about government so big, so complicated and so unmanageable, it cant get out of its own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-schieffer/talk-about-threats-to-national-security-how-about-government-so-big/) [Bob Schieffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-schieffer/) > [But with 9/11, we found that people tended to come back to the networks and the people who had been our core viewers in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-schieffer/but-with-9-11-we-found-that-people-tended-to-come-back-to-the/) [Bob Schieffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-schieffer/) > [At the White House, everybody works for the same person. They're all part of the same company. But on Capitol Hill, they're all independent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-schieffer/at-the-white-house-everybody-works-for-the-same-person-they-re-all/) [Bob Schieffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-schieffer/) > [“Dean Owen did what a lot of reporters seem to have forgotten how to do these days, he asked the people who were there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-schieffer/dean-owen-did-what-a-lot-of-reporters-seem-to-have-forgotten-how-to/) [Bob Schieffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-schieffer/) > [“While no solutions seem obvious, there is general agreement throughout the industry that if local newspapers go away and some entity does not rise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-schieffer/while-no-solutions-seem-obvious-there-is-general-agreement-throughout/) [Bob Schieffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-schieffer/) > [People are more sophisticated in the way they go about dealing with the press.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-schieffer/people-are-more-sophisticated-in-the-way-they-go-about-dealing-with/) [Bob Schieffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-schieffer/) > [But the reporter has the responsibility to determine, number one, whether that is true, and number two, to make a judgment as to whether…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-schieffer/but-the-reporter-has-the-responsibility-to-determine-number-one/) [Bob Schieffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-schieffer/) [Explore all 64 Bob Schieffer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-schieffer/) ## More Policy quotes > [If my campaign is not in the debate, we will not be talking about how we really fix this problem of endless and expanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/if-my-campaign-is-not-in-the-debate-we-will-not-be-talking-about-how/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [The purpose of this book is to supply, in the form suitable for laymen, guidance in the adoption and execution of an investment policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/the-purpose-of-this-book-is-to-supply-in-the-form-suitable-for-laymen/) [Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/) > [Time hath not yet so dried this blood of mine, Nor age so eat up my invention, Nor fortune made such havoc of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/time-hath-not-yet-so-dried-this-blood-of-mine-nor-age-so-eat-up-my/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Our nation was born in genocide when it embraced the doctrine that the original American, the Indian, was an inferior race. ... We are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/our-nation-was-born-in-genocide-when-it-embraced-the-doctrine-that/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [As president, things that you're supposed to focus on, things like the economy, like energy policy, which is completely tied to national security, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-burgum/as-president-things-that-you-re-supposed-to-focus-on-things-like-the/) [Doug Burgum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-burgum/) > [Many people in the United States happen to believe that United States policy is wrong in Vietnam and the Vietcong are correct in wanting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/many-people-in-the-united-states-happen-to-believe-that-united-states/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [We are not going back to the failed policies of the past. We are fighting for the middle class!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-pelosi/we-are-not-going-back-to-the-failed-policies-of-the-past-we-are/) [Nancy Pelosi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-pelosi/) > [I get that the media wants us to play theater critics and critique every other proposal. What I'm focusing on are my own policy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-cruz/i-get-that-the-media-wants-us-to-play-theater-critics-and-critique/) [Ted Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-cruz/) > [While living in America when I attended Harvard in the early 1970s, I saw for myself the awesome, almost miraculous, power of a people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benazir-bhutto/while-living-in-america-when-i-attended-harvard-in-the-early-1970s-i/) [Benazir Bhutto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benazir-bhutto/) > [I am somewhat influenced by the years that I've spent trying to actually get things done, whether it was reforming education in Arkansas or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-am-somewhat-influenced-by-the-years-that-i-ve-spent-trying-to/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [Global poverty is the product of reversible policy failures overseen by politicians, past and present. The poorest of the poor don't vote in American…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-evans/global-poverty-is-the-product-of-reversible-policy-failures-overseen/) [Hugh Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-evans/) > [With the apparent demise of Trumpcare, we have shown the power that ordinary people have to stop disastrous policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laphonza-butler/with-the-apparent-demise-of-trumpcare-we-have-shown-the-power-that/) [Laphonza Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laphonza-butler/) > [During the periods when South Korea played a more active role, the inter-Korean relationship was more peaceful, and there was less tension between the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moon-jae-in/during-the-periods-when-south-korea-played-a-more-active-role-the/) [Moon Jae-in](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moon-jae-in/) > [We must recognize that every nation determines its policies in terms of its own interests.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/we-must-recognize-that-every-nation-determines-its-policies-in-terms/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [The whole nuclear-arms-control and non-proliferation policy of the nuclear powers is a fraud: The Americans could not prevent the Soviets from replicating their weaponry,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conrad-black/the-whole-nuclear-arms-control-and-non-proliferation-policy-of-the/) [Conrad Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conrad-black/) [Browse all 5,625 Policy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/policy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Good policy always trumps bad public relations and the best PR can't trump bad policy.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bob Schieffer" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-schieffer/good-policy-always-trumps-bad-public-relations-and-the-best-pr-can-t/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Policy" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-schieffer/good-policy-always-trumps-bad-public-relations-and-the-best-pr-can-t/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ad/bob-schieffer-10581_policy_good-policy-always-trumps-bad-public-rel_2266458.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ad/bob-schieffer-10581_policy_good-policy-always-trumps-bad-public-rel_2266458.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ad/bob-schieffer-10581_policy_good-policy-always-trumps-bad-public-rel_2266458.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Good policy always trumps bad public relations and the best PR can't trump bad policy.” — Bob Schieffer", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Bob Schieffer", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-schieffer/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Good policy always trumps bad public...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-schieffer/good-policy-always-trumps-bad-public-relations-and-the-best-pr-can-t/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-schieffer/good-policy-always-trumps-bad-public-relations-and-the-best-pr-can-t/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```