--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Who knows better than you what it means…" description: "\"Who knows better than you what it means to have a commander-in-chief who lived his entire life, who lived throughout the entire Cold War, and doesn't k..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dec/bret-stephens-3977_astonishing_who-knows-better-than-you-what-it-means_1239318.jpg" --- # Who knows better than you what it means to have a… ![“Who knows better than you what it means to have a commander-in-chief who lived his entire life, who lived throughout the entire Cold War, and doesn't know what the nuclear triad is? It's absolutely astonishing. And so it's terrific to have Joe Dunford and you know, perhaps John Bolton and other…” quote by Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dec/bret-stephens-3977_astonishing_who-knows-better-than-you-what-it-means_1239318.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dec/bret-stephens-3977_astonishing_who-knows-better-than-you-what-it-means_1239318.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dec/bret-stephens-3977_astonishing_who-knows-better-than-you-what-it-means_1239318.jpg) > “Who knows better than you what it means to have a commander-in-chief who lived his entire life, who lived throughout the entire Cold War, and doesn't know what the nuclear triad is? It's absolutely astonishing. And so it's terrific to have Joe Dunford and you know, perhaps John Bolton and other people in positions of trust.” [Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He critiques the lack of nuclear knowledge among leaders, highlighting the absurdity of such ignorance. **In simple terms:** Leaders should understand nuclear strategy. Key Takeaway Advocate for informed leadership. Themes politics security knowledge Mood critical concerned Type political analytical When to use this quote - government appointments - defense briefings - public education Key Concepts nuclear deterrence leadership competence policy analysis Questions to Reflect On - What education should leaders receive? - How does ignorance affect national security? A Different Perspective Complex geopolitical realities may limit leaders' expertise. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Astonishing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/astonishing/) [Better than you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/better-than-you/) [Chiefs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chiefs/) [Cold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cold/) [Cold war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cold-war/) [Commander in chief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commander-in-chief/) [Commanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commanders/) [Dunford Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dunford-know-3863428/) [Entire life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/entire-life/) [John Bolton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/john-bolton-981775/) [Know Nuclear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-nuclear-1950320/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) [Nuclear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nuclear/) [Nuclear Triad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nuclear-triad-3863429/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Position](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/position/) [Terrific](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrific/) [Triads](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/triads/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [When I was 10 years old, that nuclear spark hit me. Whatever it may be, I really don't know what it was about nuclear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-wilson/when-i-was-10-years-old-that-nuclear-spark-hit-me-whatever-it-may-be/) [Taylor Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-wilson/) > [I grew up in Los Alamos, New Mexico, which is my hometown. In Los Alamos is, for people who don't know, a nuclear lab…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drew-goddard/i-grew-up-in-los-alamos-new-mexico-which-is-my-hometown-in-los-alamos/) [Drew Goddard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drew-goddard/) > [Goodness, I know nothing about nuclear energy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-dyson/goodness-i-know-nothing-about-nuclear-energy/) [James Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-dyson/) > [Now, as far as I know, nobody has ever put up the U.S.'s nuclear missiles on the Internet. I mean, it's not something I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-swartz/now-as-far-as-i-know-nobody-has-ever-put-up-the-u-s-s-nuclear/) [Aaron Swartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-swartz/) > [There's a difference between John Bolton and Mike Pompeo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-kennedy-montgomery/there-s-a-difference-between-john-bolton-and-mike-pompeo/) [Lisa Kennedy Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-kennedy-montgomery/) > [Former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton is exceptionally qualified to serve as President Trump's National Security Adviser, and I fully support his selection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-mcsally/former-u-n-ambassador-john-bolton-is-exceptionally-qualified-to-serve/) [Martha McSally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-mcsally/) > [If I were John Bolton, I'd take great consolation in the words of my principal supporter on the committee, who gave a ringing endorsement,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-shields/if-i-were-john-bolton-i-d-take-great-consolation-in-the-words-of-my/) [Mark Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-shields/) > [No American ambassador has produced more Security Council Resolutions on the issue of Iran than John Bolton.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-grenell/no-american-ambassador-has-produced-more-security-council-resolutions/) [Richard Grenell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-grenell/) > [I'll do anything to try to prevent John Bolton from getting any position, because I think his world view is naive. He believes we're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rand-paul/i-ll-do-anything-to-try-to-prevent-john-bolton-from-getting-any/) [Rand Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rand-paul/) > [ \[John\] Bolton was an advocate for regime change in Libya, so was Hillary Clinton actually. And Donald Trump said it was a mistake. I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rand-paul/john-bolton-was-an-advocate-for-regime-change-in-libya-so-was-hillary/) [Rand Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rand-paul/) > [It's true that John Bolton would not win the most popular ambassador award at the U.N., but being popular shouldn't be the priority.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-grenell/it-s-true-that-john-bolton-would-not-win-the-most-popular-ambassador/) [Richard Grenell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-grenell/) > [ I don't know about \[Rex\] Tillerson, but I do know that John Bolton doesn't get it. He still believes in regime change. He's still… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rand-paul/i-don-t-know-about-rex-tillerson-but-i-do-know-that-john-bolton-doesn/) [Rand Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rand-paul/) > [I think the problem with John Bolton is he disagrees with President Trump's foreign policy. He would be closer to John McCain's foreign policy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rand-paul/i-think-the-problem-with-john-bolton-is-he-disagrees-with-president/) [Rand Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rand-paul/) > [You underestimate John Bolton at your peril.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehdi-hasan/you-underestimate-john-bolton-at-your-peril/) [Mehdi Hasan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehdi-hasan/) > [Money, ego, revenge and the seduction of being a media darling is pretty powerful stuff, and, John Bolton is proving he's not immune.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trish-regan/money-ego-revenge-and-the-seduction-of-being-a-media-darling-is/) [Trish Regan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trish-regan/) ## More by Bret Stephens > [The hater always suffers more than the object of his hatred.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/the-hater-always-suffers-more-than-the-object-of-his-hatred/) [Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) > [Listen carefully to the global warming alarmists, and the main theme that emerges is that what the developed world needs is a large dose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/listen-carefully-to-the-global-warming-alarmists-and-the-main-theme/) [Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) > ['Democratic socialism' is awful as a slogan and catastrophic as a policy. And 'social democracy' - a term that better fits the belief of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/democratic-socialism-is-awful-as-a-slogan-and-catastrophic-as-a/) [Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) > [When you work at 'The Wall Street Journal,' the coins of the realm are truth and trust - the latter flowing exclusively from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/when-you-work-at-the-wall-street-journal-the-coins-of-the-realm-are/) [Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) > [No adviser to a president is going to get his way all of the time, but at a minimum, that adviser should be able…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/no-adviser-to-a-president-is-going-to-get-his-way-all-of-the-time-but/) [Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) > [Every president inherits a mixed bag when he comes to office, and Obama's was hardly the worst.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/every-president-inherits-a-mixed-bag-when-he-comes-to-office-and/) [Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) > [There was a time when the conservative movement was led by the likes of Bill Buckley and Irving Kristol and Bob Bartley, men of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/there-was-a-time-when-the-conservative-movement-was-led-by-the-likes/) [Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) > [We elected Donald J. Trump to keep us jittery and entertained. He's delivered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/we-elected-donald-j-trump-to-keep-us-jittery-and-entertained-he-s/) [Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) > [The United States survives so long as at least one of its major parties is politically and intellectually healthy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/the-united-states-survives-so-long-as-at-least-one-of-its-major/) [Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) > [Censoriously asserting one's moral superiority and treating skeptics as imbeciles and deplorables wins few converts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/censoriously-asserting-one-s-moral-superiority-and-treating-skeptics/) [Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) > [What is absolutely clear is that if Trump is the nominee, Republicans cannot win. Maybe they can't win with Rubio or Cruz or Kasich.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/what-is-absolutely-clear-is-that-if-trump-is-the-nominee-republicans/) [Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) > [Everything Republicans once claimed to advocate - entitlement reform, free trade, standing up to dictators, encouraging the march of freedom around the world -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/everything-republicans-once-claimed-to-advocate-entitlement-reform/) [Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) > [The best scientific evidence suggests temperatures are rising, and the best scientific evidence suggests man-made anthropogenic carbon emissions have some substantial thing to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/the-best-scientific-evidence-suggests-temperatures-are-rising-and-the/) [Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) > [The intelligent defense of free speech should not rest on the notion that we must tolerate every form of speech, no matter how offensive.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/the-intelligent-defense-of-free-speech-should-not-rest-on-the-notion/) [Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) > [When George W. Bush decided to save the American position in Iraq by going against the advice of all of his wise men, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-stephens/when-george-w-bush-decided-to-save-the-american-position-in-iraq-by/) [Bret Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) [Explore all 118 Bret Stephens quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-stephens/) ## More Astonishing quotes > [It's astonishing what you learn and feel and see along the way. That's why a reporter's job, as you know, is such a joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-wallace/it-s-astonishing-what-you-learn-and-feel-and-see-along-the-way-that-s/) [Mike Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-wallace/) > [A man may perform astonishing feats and comprehend a vast amount of knowledge, and yet have no understanding of himself. But suffering directs a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/a-man-may-perform-astonishing-feats-and-comprehend-a-vast-amount-of/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [A first novel of astonishing force, craft and beauty, The Headmaster's Wager conjures up a dizzyingly evocative wartime Saigon in the story of Percival…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-y-k-lee-2/a-first-novel-of-astonishing-force-craft-and-beauty-the-headmaster-s/) [Janice Y. K. Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-y-k-lee-2/) > [“What is astonishing is that we, who had no idea how anything was going to turn out, now know exactly what happened.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/what-is-astonishing-is-that-we-who-had-no-idea-how-anything-was-going/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [It's a great historical joke that when the Spanish met the Aztecs, it was a blind date made in serve-you-right heaven. At the time,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-gill/it-s-a-great-historical-joke-that-when-the-spanish-met-the-aztecs-it/) [A. A. Gill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-gill/) > [It was astonishing when at one point, I got the idea of how to make artifical clouds with a collaborator, we had pictures made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benoit-mandelbrot/it-was-astonishing-when-at-one-point-i-got-the-idea-of-how-to-make/) [Benoit Mandelbrot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benoit-mandelbrot/) > [Although there may be nothing new under the sun, what is old is new to us and so rich and astonishing that we never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/although-there-may-be-nothing-new-under-the-sun-what-is-old-is-new-to/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [The astonishing thing for me is that I had a career before politics and I never thought about my colour.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-gyimah/the-astonishing-thing-for-me-is-that-i-had-a-career-before-politics/) [Sam Gyimah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-gyimah/) > [“There is no denying it; one must admit that there is something astonishing about Christianity. 'It is because you were born in it,' they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/there-is-no-denying-it-one-must-admit-that-there-is-something/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [It's Twitter's combination of simplicity and complexity that is astonishing in the same way that minimalist sculpture was inspiring and enlightening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-goldsmith/it-s-twitter-s-combination-of-simplicity-and-complexity-that-is/) [Kenneth Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-goldsmith/) > [All that we don't know is astonishing. Even more astonishing is what passes for knowing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/all-that-we-don-t-know-is-astonishing-even-more-astonishing-is-what/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [Still more astonishing is that world of rigorous fantasy which we call mathematics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-bateson/still-more-astonishing-is-that-world-of-rigorous-fantasy-which-we/) [Gregory Bateson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-bateson/) > [“No one ever said aloud any of the kinds of things he was so constantly thinking, because no one in the parish, not Alice,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-von-arnim/no-one-ever-said-aloud-any-of-the-kinds-of-things-he-was-so/) [Elizabeth von Arnim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-von-arnim/) > [If you worry less about what people think of you, you can pick up an astonishing amount of information about them. You no longer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-druckerman/if-you-worry-less-about-what-people-think-of-you-you-can-pick-up-an/) [Pamela Druckerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-druckerman/) > [The Bureau of Justice reports that one in three black male babies born this century will go to jail or prison - that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-stevenson/the-bureau-of-justice-reports-that-one-in-three-black-male-babies/) [Bryan Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-stevenson/) [Browse all 410 Astonishing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/astonishing/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Who knows better than you what it means to have a commander-in-chief who lived his entire life, who lived throughout the entire Cold War, and doesn't know what the nuclear triad is? It's absolutely astonishing. 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