--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Things aren't getting better; they're…" description: "\"Things aren't getting better; they're getting worse. The White House is completely disconnected from reality. It's like they're just making it up as th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d80/chuck-hagel-9288_disconnected_things-aren-t-getting-better-they-re-get_1526757.png" --- # Things aren't getting better; they're getting worse. The… ![“Things aren't getting better; they're getting worse. The White House is completely disconnected from reality. It's like they're just making it up as they go along. The reality is that we're losing in Iraq.” quote by Chuck Hagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d80/chuck-hagel-9288_disconnected_things-aren-t-getting-better-they-re-get_1526757.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d80/chuck-hagel-9288_disconnected_things-aren-t-getting-better-they-re-get_1526757.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d80/chuck-hagel-9288_disconnected_things-aren-t-getting-better-they-re-get_1526757.png) > “Things aren't getting better; they're getting worse. The White House is completely disconnected from reality. It's like they're just making it up as they go along. The reality is that we're losing in Iraq.” [Chuck Hagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-hagel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker claims the White House is out of touch, making up policies while losing the war in Iraq. **In simple terms:** Government appears disconnected and ineffective in war. Key Takeaway Demand accountability and realistic policy. Themes politics war leadership reality disconnection Mood critical concerned Type political analytical When to use this quote - election debates - policy reviews - citizen activism Key Concepts governance military strategy public trust Questions to Reflect On - What evidence supports or refutes this claim? - How can citizens influence foreign policy? A Different Perspective Complex geopolitics may not be fully captured. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Getting better](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/getting-better/) [Iraq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/iraq/) [Israel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/israel/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [White house](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white-house/) ## Related quotes > [When a man is getting better he understands more and more clearly the evil that is still left in him. When a man is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-a-man-is-getting-better-he-understands-more-and-more-clearly-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The only question that really counts, must be thins one: are things getting better or are they getting worse?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erlend-loe/the-only-question-that-really-counts-must-be-thins-one-are-things/) [Erlend Loe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erlend-loe/) > [“Believing that it is better to dream than to deal with reality is a losing policy for adults, who can achieve nothing in their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheenah-hankin/believing-that-it-is-better-to-dream-than-to-deal-with-reality-is-a/) [Sheenah Hankin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheenah-hankin/) > [Suicide does not end the chances of life getting worse. Suicide eliminates the possibilities of it even getting better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kellin-quinn/suicide-does-not-end-the-chances-of-life-getting-worse-suicide/) [Kellin Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kellin-quinn/) > [I think in this league, that's how it works. You're either getting better or you're getting worse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/devin-mccourty/i-think-in-this-league-that-s-how-it-works-you-re-either-getting/) [Devin McCourty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/devin-mccourty/) > [When I was a little girl, my family was extremely close, loving and really happy, and then overnight, things just became a nightmare, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-hart/when-i-was-a-little-girl-my-family-was-extremely-close-loving-and/) [Beth Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-hart/) > [My models for graceful aging are guys like John Lee Hooker and Mississippi John Hurt, who never stopped working till they dropped, as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-cockburn/my-models-for-graceful-aging-are-guys-like-john-lee-hooker-and/) [Bruce Cockburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-cockburn/) > [Have you doubted your progress, regretted your choices, put yourself down? Remember that you are doing just fine. Remind yourself right now that no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iyanla-vanzant/have-you-doubted-your-progress-regretted-your-choices-put-yourself/) [Iyanla Vanzant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iyanla-vanzant/) > [I'm a producer, writer, director. I'm putting everything together very fast, and I'm strong and focused on making the next film as fast as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malgorzata-szumowska/i-m-a-producer-writer-director-i-m-putting-everything-together-very/) [Malgorzata Szumowska](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malgorzata-szumowska/) > [I am getting better at smiling when people expect it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-halse-anderson/i-am-getting-better-at-smiling-when-people-expect-it/) [Laurie Halse Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-halse-anderson/) > [American views today are weak, confused, and divided. On one side, many progressive liberals still think that we humans are essentially good and getting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/os-guinness/american-views-today-are-weak-confused-and-divided-on-one-side-many/) [Os Guinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/os-guinness/) > [I do feel that film and TV are often behind when it comes to the way women look, they often dress them in khakis…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-davis/i-do-feel-that-film-and-tv-are-often-behind-when-it-comes-to-the-way/) [Kristin Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-davis/) > [Life is getting better, but that won't stop a war if politicians and business people decide it's to their advantage to have one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/life-is-getting-better-but-that-won-t-stop-a-war-if-politicians-and/) [Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/) > [Or I could see Fish, Just a button up, Like a Mayor, Like a President, Just demands so much from his teammates, Has played…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-durant/or-i-could-see-fish-just-a-button-up-like-a-mayor-like-a-president/) [Kevin Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-durant/) > [Hollywood is so fixated on keeping it that way because it's generating the buzz, but that representation isn't right. I definitely feel like it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boyega/hollywood-is-so-fixated-on-keeping-it-that-way-because-it-s/) [John Boyega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boyega/) ## More by Chuck Hagel > [When you're dealing in situations that are uncontrollable and combustible, you try to stabilize the situation as quickly as you can and then work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-hagel/when-you-re-dealing-in-situations-that-are-uncontrollable-and/) [Chuck Hagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-hagel/) > [Closing Guantanamo Bay is not a military solution. The closing of that prison, which I support, I supported it when I was in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-hagel/closing-guantanamo-bay-is-not-a-military-solution-the-closing-of-that/) [Chuck Hagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-hagel/) > [We must prepare for everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-hagel/we-must-prepare-for-everything/) [Chuck Hagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-hagel/) > [Desperate men do desperate things when you take hope away. And that's where the Palestinians are today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-hagel/desperate-men-do-desperate-things-when-you-take-hope-away-and-that-s/) [Chuck Hagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-hagel/) > [The president of the United States is the commander in chief, and the people who work with him at the National Security Council are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-hagel/the-president-of-the-united-states-is-the-commander-in-chief-and-the/) [Chuck Hagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-hagel/) > [The Israeli people must be free to live in peace and security.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-hagel/the-israeli-people-must-be-free-to-live-in-peace-and-security/) [Chuck Hagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-hagel/) > [In a general way, if one cannot attribute to the Jew the whole responsibility of the situation, economic, political, and social, by which Algeria…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-hagel/in-a-general-way-if-one-cannot-attribute-to-the-jew-the-whole/) [Chuck Hagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-hagel/) > [Institutions are imperfect. Governments surely are. People are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-hagel/institutions-are-imperfect-governments-surely-are-people-are/) [Chuck Hagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-hagel/) > [No one individual vote, no one individual quote or no one individual statement defines me, my beliefs, or my record.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-hagel/no-one-individual-vote-no-one-individual-quote-or-no-one-individual/) [Chuck Hagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-hagel/) > [We live in a world of absolute immediacy. It is an interconnected, combustible world, where technology and many other actions have given nonstate actors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-hagel/we-live-in-a-world-of-absolute-immediacy-it-is-an-interconnected/) [Chuck Hagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-hagel/) > [Too often in Washington we tend to see foreign policy as an abstraction, with little understanding of what we are committing our country to:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-hagel/too-often-in-washington-we-tend-to-see-foreign-policy-as-an/) [Chuck Hagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-hagel/) > [Imposing democracy through force is a roll of the dice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-hagel/imposing-democracy-through-force-is-a-roll-of-the-dice/) [Chuck Hagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-hagel/) > [I have never believed you go to war in Iraq, you go to war in Afghanistan, and believe that you can deal with those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-hagel/i-have-never-believed-you-go-to-war-in-iraq-you-go-to-war-in/) [Chuck Hagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-hagel/) > [Well, Mr Obama inherited probably the biggest inventory of problems, certainly foreign policy problems, than any American president ever has. I think the entire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-hagel/well-mr-obama-inherited-probably-the-biggest-inventory-of-problems/) [Chuck Hagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-hagel/) > [Foreign policy will require a strategic agility that, whenever possible, gets ahead of problems, strengthens U.S. security and alliances, and promotes American interests and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-hagel/foreign-policy-will-require-a-strategic-agility-that-whenever/) [Chuck Hagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-hagel/) [Explore all 74 Chuck Hagel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-hagel/) ## More Disconnected quotes > [Part of what we admire about a painting or a piece of music is the order which the artist has imposed upon what would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-storr/part-of-what-we-admire-about-a-painting-or-a-piece-of-music-is-the/) [Anthony Storr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-storr/) > [We are producing urban places which are disjointed and disconnected and not worthy of our civilisation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moshe-safdie/we-are-producing-urban-places-which-are-disjointed-and-disconnected/) [Moshe Safdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moshe-safdie/) > [If we fail to appreciate the soul that Easternism gives us, then what we have is a disconnected, Greco-Roman, Western, egocentric, compartmentalized, reductionist, fragmented,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-salatin/if-we-fail-to-appreciate-the-soul-that-easternism-gives-us-then-what/) [Joel Salatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-salatin/) > [As politics is disconnected from its ethical and material moorings, it becomes easier to punish and imprison young people than to educate them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/as-politics-is-disconnected-from-its-ethical-and-material-moorings-it/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [Life is a biography, not a series of disconnected moments, more or less pleasurable but increasingly tedious and unsatisfying unless one imposes a purposive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-dalrymple/life-is-a-biography-not-a-series-of-disconnected-moments-more-or-less/) [Theodore Dalrymple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-dalrymple/) > [My books have been translated into various languages and sold in other countries, but I never have any contact with the foreign publishers and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-zarr/my-books-have-been-translated-into-various-languages-and-sold-in/) [Sara Zarr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-zarr/) > [In theatres, you're kind of disconnected. Also, it's way too big for the likes of me. Unless you're Robin Williams or someone that can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norm-macdonald/in-theatres-you-re-kind-of-disconnected-also-it-s-way-too-big-for-the/) [Norm MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norm-macdonald/) > [This is because fear and love are enemies. They come from two opposing kingdoms. Fear comes from the devil, who would like nothing more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-silk/this-is-because-fear-and-love-are-enemies-they-come-from-two-opposing/) [Danny Silk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-silk/) > [“Every few minutes or so I would remember the look from the man who had wanted fifty cents, and I'd look at that framed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-lacey/every-few-minutes-or-so-i-would-remember-the-look-from-the-man-who/) [Catherine Lacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-lacey/) > [The experience of life that you and I have is pretty much a jigsaw puzzle in the box: Day-to-day experiences of disconnected pieces that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-adams/the-experience-of-life-that-you-and-i-have-is-pretty-much-a-jigsaw/) [Robert Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-adams/) > [You have to learn how to harness technology so you can use it for positive stuff without being disconnected from nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/talib-kweli/you-have-to-learn-how-to-harness-technology-so-you-can-use-it-for/) [Talib Kweli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/talib-kweli/) > [“I was already at one remove before the Internet came along. I need another remove? Now I have to spend the time that I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-ferris/i-was-already-at-one-remove-before-the-internet-came-along-i-need/) [Joshua Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-ferris/) > [We live in a paradox: connected electronically but disconnected interpersonally. However, when you recognize the problem, you can take steps to correct it. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hallowell/we-live-in-a-paradox-connected-electronically-but-disconnected/) [Edward Hallowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hallowell/) > [If people are portrayed as monsters, we become disconnected from them, and to me that is not remotely interesting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-gibney/if-people-are-portrayed-as-monsters-we-become-disconnected-from-them/) [Alex Gibney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-gibney/) > [“We disconnected. And I wondered if we had ever truly connected.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-jerome-dickey/we-disconnected-and-i-wondered-if-we-had-ever-truly-connected/) [Eric Jerome Dickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-jerome-dickey/) Browse all 213 Disconnected quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Things aren't getting better; they're getting worse. The White House is completely disconnected from reality. It's like they're just making it up as they go along. The reality is that we're losing in Iraq.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Chuck Hagel" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-hagel/things-aren-t-getting-better-they-re-getting-worse-the-white-house-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Disconnected" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-hagel/things-aren-t-getting-better-they-re-getting-worse-the-white-house-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d80/chuck-hagel-9288_disconnected_things-aren-t-getting-better-they-re-get_1526757.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d80/chuck-hagel-9288_disconnected_things-aren-t-getting-better-they-re-get_1526757.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d80/chuck-hagel-9288_disconnected_things-aren-t-getting-better-they-re-get_1526757.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Things aren't getting better; they're getting worse. The White House is completely disconnected from…” — Chuck Hagel", "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": "Chuck Hagel", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-hagel/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Things aren't getting better; they're getting...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-hagel/things-aren-t-getting-better-they-re-getting-worse-the-white-house-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-hagel/things-aren-t-getting-better-they-re-getting-worse-the-white-house-is/#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 } } ] } ```