--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And when they were elected, they arrived…" description: "\"“And when they were elected, they arrived in Washington with absolutely no idea what to do. Their only goal had already been achieved: They had won the..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a5/david-baldacci-1558_elected_and-when-they-were-elected-they-arrived_2342052.png" --- # And when they were elected, they arrived in Washington… ![“And when they were elected, they arrived in Washington with absolutely no idea what to do. Their only goal had already been achieved: They had won their campaign. However,” quote by David Baldacci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a5/david-baldacci-1558_elected_and-when-they-were-elected-they-arrived_2342052.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a5/david-baldacci-1558_elected_and-when-they-were-elected-they-arrived_2342052.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a5/david-baldacci-1558_elected_and-when-they-were-elected-they-arrived_2342052.png) > ““And when they were elected, they arrived in Washington with absolutely no idea what to do. Their only goal had already been achieved: They had won their campaign. However,”” [David Baldacci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baldacci/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Elected officials may achieve campaign goals yet lack practical governance experience. **In simple terms:** Winning elections doesn’t guarantee competence. Key Takeaway Seek expertise beyond election promises. Themes politics inexperience governance Mood cautious critical Type political analytical When to use this quote - government transition - public administration Key Concepts Policy implementation leadership training Questions to Reflect On - How can new leaders acquire needed skills? - What mentorship structures help? A Different Perspective Experience gaps can cause policy failures. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Arrived Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arrived-washington-1717094/) [Elected](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elected/) [Elected Arrived](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elected-arrived-5671384/) [Washington Absolutely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/washington-absolutely-5671385/) [Won Campaign](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/won-campaign-699632/) ## Related quotes > [Donald Trump won the campaign, and I was empowered by Jared Kushner and lucky to be around people like Kellyanne Conway and Steve Bannon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-parscale/donald-trump-won-the-campaign-and-i-was-empowered-by-jared-kushner/) [Brad Parscale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-parscale/) > [I've been very independent from the day I arrived in Washington.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-mccaskill/i-ve-been-very-independent-from-the-day-i-arrived-in-washington/) [Claire McCaskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-mccaskill/) > [I have been very independent from day I arrived in Washington.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-mccaskill/i-have-been-very-independent-from-day-i-arrived-in-washington/) [Claire McCaskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-mccaskill/) > [When President Trump and I arrived in Washington, there was a new sense that the crisis of illegal immigration would now be taken seriously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luther-strange/when-president-trump-and-i-arrived-in-washington-there-was-a-new/) [Luther Strange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luther-strange/) > [I was elected to Parliament as a Conservative three times, most recently in 2017.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-boles/i-was-elected-to-parliament-as-a-conservative-three-times-most/) [Nick Boles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-boles/) > [Others will have opinions on how I do and that's just fine... I've been elected four times, delivered results for my constituents and delivered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-poilievre/others-will-have-opinions-on-how-i-do-and-that-s-just-fine-i-ve-been/) [Pierre Poilievre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-poilievre/) > [If elected, I shall see to it that every man has a square deal, no less and no more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/if-elected-i-shall-see-to-it-that-every-man-has-a-square-deal-no-less/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [You now have the potential of 200 people deciding who ends up being elected president every single time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/you-now-have-the-potential-of-200-people-deciding-who-ends-up-being/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [The American people, in their own families, they understand that you have to do that. You have to make the tough decisions. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathy-mcmorris-rodgers/the-american-people-in-their-own-families-they-understand-that-you/) [Cathy McMorris Rodgers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathy-mcmorris-rodgers/) > [I came into office to do what was correct, not to see what was politically expedient to get re-elected.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-fortuno/i-came-into-office-to-do-what-was-correct-not-to-see-what-was/) [Luis Fortuno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-fortuno/) > [We hope that the elected officials will respond positively to a ground swell of letters, phone calls, e-mails and visits from parents. The law…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-hope-that-the-elected-officials-will-respond-positively-to-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When you're running, when you're in elected office, you're surrounded with power. And, so every single day, you have to remind yourself why you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-rasoul/when-you-re-running-when-you-re-in-elected-office-you-re-surrounded/) [Sam Rasoul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-rasoul/) > [When I was elected governor of my state, I had a legislature 87 percent Democrat. It was not lost on me that to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitt-romney/when-i-was-elected-governor-of-my-state-i-had-a-legislature-87/) [Mitt Romney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitt-romney/) > [Realizing that they can't get their agenda across: against religious liberty, against a culture of life, they can't get those issues across through the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-parsley/realizing-that-they-can-t-get-their-agenda-across-against-religious/) [Rod Parsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-parsley/) > [No matter how unusual a personality may be who gets elected to office, there are constraints in this country. You don't get to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-mcconnell/no-matter-how-unusual-a-personality-may-be-who-gets-elected-to-office/) [Mitch McConnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-mcconnell/) ## More by David Baldacci > [Why waste time trying to discover the truth, when you can so easily create it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-baldacci/why-waste-time-trying-to-discover-the-truth-when-you-can-so-easily/) [David Baldacci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baldacci/) > [It's the hardest thing in the world to put yourself in someone else's place, try to really feel what they feel, figure out why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-baldacci/it-s-the-hardest-thing-in-the-world-to-put-yourself-in-someone-else-s/) [David Baldacci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baldacci/) > [“That’s what’s called a ‘valley fill.’ What they fill it with the coal companies call ‘overburden.’ That’s basically everything they tore off the land:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-baldacci/that-s-what-s-called-a-valley-fill-what-they-fill-it-with-the-coal/) [David Baldacci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baldacci/) > [But if I worried too much about publishers' expectations, I'd probably paralyze myself and not be able to write anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-baldacci/but-if-i-worried-too-much-about-publishers-expectations-i-d-probably/) [David Baldacci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baldacci/) > [That's what civilization sometimes did to threats, real or perceived. They walled them off. Us against them. Survival of the fittest. You die so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-baldacci/that-s-what-civilization-sometimes-did-to-threats-real-or-perceived/) [David Baldacci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baldacci/) > [“You could have been a great scientist or something. Or a writer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-baldacci/you-could-have-been-a-great-scientist-or-something-or-a-writer/) [David Baldacci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baldacci/) > [“That’s good to hear, Billy. Kids have enough shit to deal with without somebody who is supposed to love them beating the crap out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-baldacci/that-s-good-to-hear-billy-kids-have-enough-shit-to-deal-with-without/) [David Baldacci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baldacci/) > [Most people associate reading with laying on the beach. They don't see that it's crucial for a democracy!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-baldacci/most-people-associate-reading-with-laying-on-the-beach-they-don-t-see/) [David Baldacci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baldacci/) > [I'm ever curious about the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-baldacci/i-m-ever-curious-about-the-world/) [David Baldacci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baldacci/) > [“There was a time when Stone would have rated a platoon of crackerjack killers coming for him by land, sea and air. Those days…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-baldacci/there-was-a-time-when-stone-would-have-rated-a-platoon-of-crackerjack/) [David Baldacci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baldacci/) > [I'm driven to go out and find new things to write about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-baldacci/i-m-driven-to-go-out-and-find-new-things-to-write-about/) [David Baldacci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baldacci/) > [It's hard, Cotton. To let yourself love something you know you may never have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-baldacci/it-s-hard-cotton-to-let-yourself-love-something-you-know-you-may/) [David Baldacci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baldacci/) > [I'm a wicked ping-pong player.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-baldacci/i-m-a-wicked-ping-pong-player/) [David Baldacci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baldacci/) > [“He could compartmentalize at an astonishing level. It came from not giving a shit. And”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-baldacci/he-could-compartmentalize-at-an-astonishing-level-it-came-from-not/) [David Baldacci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baldacci/) > [“two unconscious, bleeding men and then over at the girl behind the bar. She was staring at him openmouthed, the glass-rag and beer mug…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-baldacci/two-unconscious-bleeding-men-and-then-over-at-the-girl-behind-the-bar/) [David Baldacci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baldacci/) [Explore all 214 David Baldacci quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baldacci/) ## More Elected quotes > [No matter how unusual a personality may be who gets elected to office, there are constraints in this country. You don't get to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-mcconnell/no-matter-how-unusual-a-personality-may-be-who-gets-elected-to-office/) [Mitch McConnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-mcconnell/) > [Realizing that they can't get their agenda across: against religious liberty, against a culture of life, they can't get those issues across through the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-parsley/realizing-that-they-can-t-get-their-agenda-across-against-religious/) [Rod Parsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-parsley/) > [When I was elected governor of my state, I had a legislature 87 percent Democrat. It was not lost on me that to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitt-romney/when-i-was-elected-governor-of-my-state-i-had-a-legislature-87/) [Mitt Romney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitt-romney/) > [When you're running, when you're in elected office, you're surrounded with power. And, so every single day, you have to remind yourself why you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-rasoul/when-you-re-running-when-you-re-in-elected-office-you-re-surrounded/) [Sam Rasoul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-rasoul/) > [We hope that the elected officials will respond positively to a ground swell of letters, phone calls, e-mails and visits from parents. The law…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-hope-that-the-elected-officials-will-respond-positively-to-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I came into office to do what was correct, not to see what was politically expedient to get re-elected.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-fortuno/i-came-into-office-to-do-what-was-correct-not-to-see-what-was/) [Luis Fortuno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-fortuno/) > [The American people, in their own families, they understand that you have to do that. You have to make the tough decisions. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathy-mcmorris-rodgers/the-american-people-in-their-own-families-they-understand-that-you/) [Cathy McMorris Rodgers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathy-mcmorris-rodgers/) > [You now have the potential of 200 people deciding who ends up being elected president every single time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/you-now-have-the-potential-of-200-people-deciding-who-ends-up-being/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [If elected, I shall see to it that every man has a square deal, no less and no more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/if-elected-i-shall-see-to-it-that-every-man-has-a-square-deal-no-less/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [Others will have opinions on how I do and that's just fine... I've been elected four times, delivered results for my constituents and delivered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-poilievre/others-will-have-opinions-on-how-i-do-and-that-s-just-fine-i-ve-been/) [Pierre Poilievre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-poilievre/) > [I was elected to Parliament as a Conservative three times, most recently in 2017.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-boles/i-was-elected-to-parliament-as-a-conservative-three-times-most/) [Nick Boles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-boles/) > [My goal was never to get re-elected.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-mccallum/my-goal-was-never-to-get-re-elected/) [Scott McCallum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-mccallum/) > [I was elected because I believed in what we call "grassroots politics," politics from the bottom up, not the top down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/i-was-elected-because-i-believed-in-what-we-call-grassroots-politics/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [There are many Israelis who are not keen on Barack Obama - they did not want to see him elected.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-engel/there-are-many-israelis-who-are-not-keen-on-barack-obama-they-did-not/) [Richard Engel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-engel/) > [Now we have black and white elected officials working together. Today, we have gone beyond just passing laws. Now we have to create a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lewis/now-we-have-black-and-white-elected-officials-working-together-today/) [John Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lewis/) [Browse all 542 Elected quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elected/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“And when they were elected, they arrived in Washington with absolutely no idea what to do. Their only goal had already been achieved: They had won their campaign. 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