--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A politician can do what he thinks is…" description: "\"A politician can do what he thinks is right, he just has to be sophisticated in how he goes about it. Those who seek a president who 'will disregard th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ea/dick-morris-4948_asks_a-politician-can-do-what-he-thinks-is-ri_947818.jpg" --- # A politician can do what he thinks is right, he just has… ![“A politician can do what he thinks is right, he just has to be sophisticated in how he goes about it. Those who seek a president who 'will disregard the polls and just lead,' ask for the political equivalent of 'The Charge of the Light Brigade.'” quote by Dick Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ea/dick-morris-4948_asks_a-politician-can-do-what-he-thinks-is-ri_947818.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ea/dick-morris-4948_asks_a-politician-can-do-what-he-thinks-is-ri_947818.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ea/dick-morris-4948_asks_a-politician-can-do-what-he-thinks-is-ri_947818.jpg) > “A politician can do what he thinks is right, he just has to be sophisticated in how he goes about it. Those who seek a president who 'will disregard the polls and just lead,' ask for the political equivalent of 'The Charge of the Light Brigade.'” [Dick Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-morris/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A politician must align actions with personal convictions while employing strategic tactics to achieve goals. **In simple terms:** Politicians need strategy to act on beliefs. Key Takeaway Act wisely, plan carefully. Themes politics strategy ethics Mood cautious critical Type political advice When to use this quote - campaign planning - policy implementation - crisis management Key Concepts power dynamics public perception leadership Questions to Reflect On - Is sophistication justification for questionable means? - How to balance conviction with public duty? A Different Perspective Strategy may conflict with moral integrity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [Politician](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politician/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Polls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/polls/) [President](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/president/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [Leadership is a dynamic tension between where a politician thinks his country must go and where his voters want it to go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-morris/leadership-is-a-dynamic-tension-between-where-a-politician-thinks-his/) [Dick Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-morris/) > [If somebody's dumb enough to ask me to go to a political convention and say something, they're going to have to take what they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-eastwood/if-somebody-s-dumb-enough-to-ask-me-to-go-to-a-political-convention/) [Clint Eastwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-eastwood/) > [It is weird. A lot of people try to ask me political questions. I'm not a politician.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barkhad-abdi/it-is-weird-a-lot-of-people-try-to-ask-me-political-questions-i-m-not/) [Barkhad Abdi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barkhad-abdi/) > [You need the commitment of people that aren't worried about that next election, who are going to do the right thing and worry about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-fitzgerald/you-need-the-commitment-of-people-that-aren-t-worried-about-that-next/) Jeff Fitzgerald > [Future generations are not going to ask us what political party were you in. They are going to ask what did you do about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-sheen/future-generations-are-not-going-to-ask-us-what-political-party-were/) [Martin Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-sheen/) > [It is weird. A lot of people try to ask me political questions. Im not a politician.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barkhad-abdi/it-is-weird-a-lot-of-people-try-to-ask-me-political-questions-im-not/) [Barkhad Abdi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barkhad-abdi/) > [A politician thinks about the next elections - the statesman thinks about the next generations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-freeman/a-politician-thinks-about-the-next-elections-the-statesman-thinks/) [James Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-freeman/) > [“A politician thinks of the next election; a statesman thinks of the next generation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-freeman-clarke/a-politician-thinks-of-the-next-election-a-statesman-thinks-of-the/) [James Freeman Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-freeman-clarke/) > [What politician ever thinks beyond 4 or 5 years? But such thinking is hopelessly inadequate for the big questions that involve the fabric of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-barnes/what-politician-ever-thinks-beyond-4-or-5-years-but-such-thinking-is/) [Simon Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-barnes/) > [A politician thinks of the next election; a statement of the next generation. A politician looks for the success of his party; a statesman…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-freeman-clarke/a-politician-thinks-of-the-next-election-a-statement-of-the-next/) [James Freeman Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-freeman-clarke/) > [A politician thinks of the next election. A statesman, of the next generation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-freeman-clarke/a-politician-thinks-of-the-next-election-a-statesman-of-the-next/) [James Freeman Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-freeman-clarke/) > [A statesman is he who thinks in the future generations, and a politician is he who thinks in the upcoming elections.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/a-statesman-is-he-who-thinks-in-the-future-generations-and-a/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [“The only thing more dangerous than a politician who thinks about re-election, is a politician who doesn't think about re-election.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-carville/the-only-thing-more-dangerous-than-a-politician-who-thinks-about-re/) [James Carville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-carville/) > [When a poll is really, really out of whack with what I want to happen, I do have a tendency to disregard it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/when-a-poll-is-really-really-out-of-whack-with-what-i-want-to-happen/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [Nothing works on the campaign trail like attacks on candidates for bad attendance. It alienates people on both sides of every issue and reflects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-morris/nothing-works-on-the-campaign-trail-like-attacks-on-candidates-for/) [Dick Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-morris/) ## More by Dick Morris > [Obama's perverse view of fairness threatens to create reverse incentives, militating against growth, jobs, expansion and upward mobility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-morris/obama-s-perverse-view-of-fairness-threatens-to-create-reverse/) [Dick Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-morris/) > [Often GOP political strategy seems like the human wave theory of the Chinese military translated to politics. Where Beijing uses masses of soldiers to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-morris/often-gop-political-strategy-seems-like-the-human-wave-theory-of-the/) [Dick Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-morris/) > [Rebut the negative, and the opposing campaign has not merely lost a skirmish, it has suffered almost irreparable damage. An effective rebuttal makes it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-morris/rebut-the-negative-and-the-opposing-campaign-has-not-merely-lost-a/) [Dick Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-morris/) > [With a congressional mandate to run the deficit up as high as need be, there is no reason to raise taxes now and risk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-morris/with-a-congressional-mandate-to-run-the-deficit-up-as-high-as-need-be/) [Dick Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-morris/) > [Obama does not believe in individual upward mobility. He would penalize it, tax it, regulate it, inveigh against it and disincentivize it. We will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-morris/obama-does-not-believe-in-individual-upward-mobility-he-would/) [Dick Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-morris/) > [In Canada the cancer death rate is 16% higher than in the U.S. because of rationing of medical care. It takes an eight week…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-morris/in-canada-the-cancer-death-rate-is-16-higher-than-in-the-u-s-because/) [Dick Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-morris/) > [Franklin Roosevelt didn't poll, because he had great political instincts. Now we have polls; we don't need instincts. But is that a change in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-morris/franklin-roosevelt-didn-t-poll-because-he-had-great-political/) [Dick Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-morris/) > [Anybody else who's gotten the president of the United States elected, tell me you are better than I am at it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-morris/anybody-else-who-s-gotten-the-president-of-the-united-states-elected/) [Dick Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-morris/) > [The Hispanic population grew by 4.7 percent last year, while blacks expanded by 1.5 percent and whites by a paltry 0.3 percent. Hispanics cast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-morris/the-hispanic-population-grew-by-4-7-percent-last-year-while-blacks/) [Dick Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-morris/) > [Those crazies in Montana who say, 'We're going to kill ATF agents because the UN's going to take over' - well, they're beginning to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-morris/those-crazies-in-montana-who-say-we-re-going-to-kill-atf-agents/) [Dick Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-morris/) > [You cannot cover the 50 million new people Obama seeks to cover without more doctors and nurses. But the administration and even the Blue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-morris/you-cannot-cover-the-50-million-new-people-obama-seeks-to-cover/) [Dick Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-morris/) > [I think that the reason Clinton chose Gore was that he was an example of what Clinton was like. He was kind of almost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-morris/i-think-that-the-reason-clinton-chose-gore-was-that-he-was-an-example/) [Dick Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-morris/) > [The problem: Democrats have to drop their stupid class-warfare rhetoric. With 74 million Americans owning stock in one form or another, anything which helps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-morris/the-problem-democrats-have-to-drop-their-stupid-class-warfare/) [Dick Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-morris/) > [The Darwinian adaptive trait of our time is the ability to figure out when we are being lied to on television.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-morris/the-darwinian-adaptive-trait-of-our-time-is-the-ability-to-figure-out/) [Dick Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-morris/) > [Public-opinion polls show that Americans split about evenly on civil unions. But when the words 'gay marriage' are presented, they break 3-to-1 against it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-morris/public-opinion-polls-show-that-americans-split-about-evenly-on-civil/) [Dick Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-morris/) [Explore all 104 Dick Morris quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-morris/) ## More Asks quotes > [If you ask an introvert a question, wait until she thinks about it. Introverts think before speaking, not through speaking. If you want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-helgoe/if-you-ask-an-introvert-a-question-wait-until-she-thinks-about-it/) [Laurie Helgoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-helgoe/) > [I don't wear a watch because I want my arms to weigh the same. So if somebody asks me what time it is, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-hedberg/i-don-t-wear-a-watch-because-i-want-my-arms-to-weigh-the-same-so-if/) [Mitch Hedberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-hedberg/) > [I am a practicing Catholic, but my lineage is Jewish, so if someone asks me if I'm Jewish, I say yes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neve-campbell/i-am-a-practicing-catholic-but-my-lineage-is-jewish-so-if-someone/) [Neve Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neve-campbell/) > [Freedom in every sense but primarily political sense, a rise in repression that stems from a repression of sexuality. It's AIDS, it's herpes, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/freedom-in-every-sense-but-primarily-political-sense-a-rise-in/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [Why did Erich von Stronheim leave Germany? Why did Hitchcock leave England? If you were a director you'd like to work in Hollywood too.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-polanski/why-did-erich-von-stronheim-leave-germany-why-did-hitchcock-leave/) [Roman Polanski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-polanski/) > [There is nothing more I ask of this life than this moment, exactly so. And suddenly forever seems like too short a time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-andreas/there-is-nothing-more-i-ask-of-this-life-than-this-moment-exactly-so/) [Brian Andreas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-andreas/) > [Success will come when the societal attitude changes and not a single woman in America asks herself the question 'What did I do?'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-biden/success-will-come-when-the-societal-attitude-changes-and-not-a-single/) [Joe Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-biden/) > [The most fundamental question we can ever ask ourselves is whether or not the universe we live in is friendly or hostile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/the-most-fundamental-question-we-can-ever-ask-ourselves-is-whether-or/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [The rich people are apparently leaving America. They're giving up their citizenship. These great lovers of America who made their money in this country-when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/the-rich-people-are-apparently-leaving-america-they-re-giving-up/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [There is a way to be a woman, ask for what we deserve and be able to negotiate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracee-ellis-ross/there-is-a-way-to-be-a-woman-ask-for-what-we-deserve-and-be-able-to/) [Tracee Ellis Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracee-ellis-ross/) > [For someone to ask 'Who did you play for' and to be able to answer a single name 'Liverpool' that would be brilliant...I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-carragher/for-someone-to-ask-who-did-you-play-for-and-to-be-able-to-answer-a/) [Jamie Carragher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-carragher/) > [I have no hesitation in saying that although the American woman never leaves her domestic sphere and is in some respects very dependent within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/i-have-no-hesitation-in-saying-that-although-the-american-woman-never/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [Ask God for temp'rance. That's th' appliance only Which your disease requires.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/ask-god-for-temp-rance-that-s-th-appliance-only-which-your-disease/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I don't know how to say it exactly. Only...I want to die as myself. Does that make any sense?' he asks. 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