--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Campaigns often make standing on…" description: "\"Campaigns often make standing on principle the highest of virtues - and listening to your opponents a sure sign of weakness. It's the virtual opposite ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b0/dee-dee-myers-7880_campaign_campaigns-often-make-standing-on-princip_1173775.png" --- # Campaigns often make standing on principle the highest of… ![“Campaigns often make standing on principle the highest of virtues - and listening to your opponents a sure sign of weakness. It's the virtual opposite of what it takes to succeed in office. Squaring the circle takes a powerful combination of skills. But presidents who can campaign and compromise…” quote by Dee Dee Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b0/dee-dee-myers-7880_campaign_campaigns-often-make-standing-on-princip_1173775.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b0/dee-dee-myers-7880_campaign_campaigns-often-make-standing-on-princip_1173775.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b0/dee-dee-myers-7880_campaign_campaigns-often-make-standing-on-princip_1173775.png) > “Campaigns often make standing on principle the highest of virtues - and listening to your opponents a sure sign of weakness. It's the virtual opposite of what it takes to succeed in office. Squaring the circle takes a powerful combination of skills. But presidents who can campaign and compromise are generally the most successful.” [Dee Dee Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-dee-myers/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Advocates that principle without compromise and dismissing opponents weakens leadership; successful leaders balance conviction with negotiation. **In simple terms:** Balance principle with compromise for success. Key Takeaway Combine conviction with negotiation. Themes politics leadership compromise Mood reflective strategic Type political advice When to use this quote - Legislative negotiations - campaign strategy - policy making Key Concepts Strategic flexibility ethical governance Questions to Reflect On - When should you stand firm? - How to negotiate without losing integrity? A Different Perspective Overcompromise can erode core values. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Campaign](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/campaign/) [Campaign Compromise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/campaign-compromise-3412860/) [Campaigns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/campaigns/) [Campaigns Make](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/campaigns-make-3412863/) [Circles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/circles/) [Combination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/combination/) [Compromise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compromise/) [Highest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/highest/) [Listening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/listening/) [Office](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/office/) [Opponents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opponents/) [Opposites](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opposites/) [Powerful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/powerful/) [President](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/president/) [Presidents Campaign](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/presidents-campaign-3412862/) [Principles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/principles/) [Skills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/skills/) [Skills Presidents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/skills-presidents-3412861/) [Standing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/standing/) [Standing On Principle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/standing-on-principle-218777/) [Succeed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/succeed/) [Successful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/successful/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) [Weakness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weakness/) ## Related quotes > [Sometimes, political campaigns make decent people act and talk like perfect buffoons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-snow/sometimes-political-campaigns-make-decent-people-act-and-talk-like/) [Tony Snow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-snow/) > [Communist party leadership in China knows that Canada's political and media elite values feeling superior to the United States more than they value standing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-o-toole/communist-party-leadership-in-china-knows-that-canada-s-political-and/) [Erin O'Toole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-o-toole/) > [“Tony the Beat Poet says the church is like a wounded animal these days. He says we used to have power and influence, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-miller/tony-the-beat-poet-says-the-church-is-like-a-wounded-animal-these/) [Donald Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-miller/) > [But make no mistake, the President will find in our new majority the voice of the American people as they've expressed it tonight: standing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boehner/but-make-no-mistake-the-president-will-find-in-our-new-majority-the/) [John Boehner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boehner/) > [When I campaign with seniors, it's always, 'Are you a Democrat or Republican?' But when I campaign on college campuses, they ask me where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-schock/when-i-campaign-with-seniors-it-s-always-are-you-a-democrat-or/) [Aaron Schock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-schock/) > [I injured myself politically when I took on Jesse Jackson' in the 1988 presidential campaign. I was too strident. I didn't recognize the emotional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-koch/i-injured-myself-politically-when-i-took-on-jesse-jackson-in-the-1988/) [Ed Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-koch/) > [I'm going to have to campaign to teach Bolivians who the president is, because apparently they haven't realized I'm here yet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gonzalo-sanchez-de-lozada/i-m-going-to-have-to-campaign-to-teach-bolivians-who-the-president-is/) [Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gonzalo-sanchez-de-lozada/) > [I'm of the philosophy that you wage a campaign of full engagement and you use every tool in the toolbox.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-wilson/i-m-of-the-philosophy-that-you-wage-a-campaign-of-full-engagement-and/) [Rick Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-wilson/) > [A digital director shouldn't be out front, but a campaign manager's job is to set a narrative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-parscale/a-digital-director-shouldn-t-be-out-front-but-a-campaign-manager-s/) [Brad Parscale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-parscale/) > [“It’s true, though, that we struggled to stay on message. 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Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-k-davis/) > [The #MeToo campaign is monumental. It is giving a voice to so many too scared to speak out before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-smart/the-metoo-campaign-is-monumental-it-is-giving-a-voice-to-so-many-too/) [Elizabeth Smart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-smart/) > [If you put everything, your heart and soul into a campaign, it might take you a while to come around to the realization that,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-ellison/if-you-put-everything-your-heart-and-soul-into-a-campaign-it-might/) [Keith Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-ellison/) ## More by Dee Dee Myers > [It isn't fate but fecklessness that has shoved Sarah Palin to the sidelines of national politics. The real tragedy is that she's taken a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-dee-myers/it-isn-t-fate-but-fecklessness-that-has-shoved-sarah-palin-to-the/) [Dee Dee Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-dee-myers/) > [I was supposed to be authoritative, but at the same time had to be likeable, a quality that is a bonus, not a requirement,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-dee-myers/i-was-supposed-to-be-authoritative-but-at-the-same-time-had-to-be/) [Dee Dee Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-dee-myers/) > [It was what became something of a pattern in the first couple of years of the Clinton White House and maybe even longer, where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-dee-myers/it-was-what-became-something-of-a-pattern-in-the-first-couple-of/) [Dee Dee Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-dee-myers/) > [Throughout his presidency, Clinton made a point of getting close - physically and emotionally - to the people whose problems his administration was working…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-dee-myers/throughout-his-presidency-clinton-made-a-point-of-getting-close/) [Dee Dee Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-dee-myers/) > [The fight is always the same within the Democratic Party, isn't it? The more things change, the more they stay the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-dee-myers/the-fight-is-always-the-same-within-the-democratic-party-isn-t-it-the/) [Dee Dee Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-dee-myers/) > [Women have to be the biggest champions in the world of other women's choices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-dee-myers/women-have-to-be-the-biggest-champions-in-the-world-of-other-women-s/) [Dee Dee Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-dee-myers/) > [And Clinton was like that - he saw the whole playing field. He didn't just see the event that he was at or the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-dee-myers/and-clinton-was-like-that-he-saw-the-whole-playing-field-he-didn-t/) [Dee Dee Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-dee-myers/) > [Even tax breaks that are supposed to help the middle class too often skew toward the wealthy. Consider the mortgage interest deduction. While political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-dee-myers/even-tax-breaks-that-are-supposed-to-help-the-middle-class-too-often/) [Dee Dee Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-dee-myers/) > [Almost all first ladies have had tremendous power on personnel issues, whether the public realized it or not, whether it was Barbara Bush or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-dee-myers/almost-all-first-ladies-have-had-tremendous-power-on-personnel-issues/) [Dee Dee Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-dee-myers/) > [Part of Obama's persona is self-reliance. He's calm; he's cool; he's self-possessed. In many ways, he has tried to define himself in opposition to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-dee-myers/part-of-obama-s-persona-is-self-reliance-he-s-calm-he-s-cool-he-s/) [Dee Dee Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-dee-myers/) > [Obama has become too dependent on formal speeches and set town halls. His idea of mixing it up is taking off his jacket.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-dee-myers/obama-has-become-too-dependent-on-formal-speeches-and-set-town-halls/) [Dee Dee Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-dee-myers/) > [President Barack Obama would do well to take a page or two from Clinton's playbook.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-dee-myers/president-barack-obama-would-do-well-to-take-a-page-or-two-from/) [Dee Dee Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-dee-myers/) > [In a way I think Bill Clinton is more likely to forgive and move on or at least try to woo people who don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-dee-myers/in-a-way-i-think-bill-clinton-is-more-likely-to-forgive-and-move-on/) [Dee Dee Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-dee-myers/) > [No doubt, the White House thinks the American people know Obama's story. But since the Inauguration, we've seen only the president's present: his perfect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-dee-myers/no-doubt-the-white-house-thinks-the-american-people-know-obama-s/) [Dee Dee Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-dee-myers/) > [Many differences are rooted in biology and reinforced through culture, so it's important to acknowledge that. Because if you say men and women are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-dee-myers/many-differences-are-rooted-in-biology-and-reinforced-through-culture/) [Dee Dee Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-dee-myers/) [Explore all 86 Dee Dee Myers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-dee-myers/) ## More Campaign quotes > [If you put everything, your heart and soul into a campaign, it might take you a while to come around to the realization that,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-ellison/if-you-put-everything-your-heart-and-soul-into-a-campaign-it-might/) [Keith Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-ellison/) > [The #MeToo campaign is monumental. It is giving a voice to so many too scared to speak out before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-smart/the-metoo-campaign-is-monumental-it-is-giving-a-voice-to-so-many-too/) [Elizabeth Smart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-smart/) > [I have a tendency to campaign positively and campaign on issues, not try to tear someone else down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-k-davis/i-have-a-tendency-to-campaign-positively-and-campaign-on-issues-not/) [Danny K. 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We camped literally in water...To cap our woe, there was no means to light…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonce-patry/the-weather-was-atrocious-a-frightful-storm-burst-upon-us-we-camped/) [Leonce Patry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonce-patry/) [Browse all 801 Campaign quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/campaign/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Campaigns often make standing on principle the highest of virtues - and listening to your opponents a sure sign of weakness. It's the virtual opposite of what it takes to succeed in office. Squaring the circle takes a powerful combination of skills. 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