--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Dealing with the State Department is like…" description: "\"Dealing with the State Department is like watching an elephant become pregnant.\" — Franklin D. Roosevelt" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/031/franklin-d-roosevelt-488_department_dealing-with-the-state-department-is-lik_2018845.jpg" --- # Dealing with the State Department is like watching an… ![“Dealing with the State Department is like watching an elephant become pregnant.” quote by Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/031/franklin-d-roosevelt-488_department_dealing-with-the-state-department-is-lik_2018845.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/031/franklin-d-roosevelt-488_department_dealing-with-the-state-department-is-lik_2018845.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/031/franklin-d-roosevelt-488_department_dealing-with-the-state-department-is-lik_2018845.jpg) > “Dealing with the State Department is like watching an elephant become pregnant.” [Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Dealing with bureaucracy feels absurdly slow and cumbersome, like an impossible biological event. **In simple terms:** Bureaucracy feels absurdly slow. Key Takeaway Accept the absurdity and seek practical shortcuts. Themes bureaucracy patience politics Mood frustrated skeptical Type cynical observational When to use this quote - government negotiations - policy drafting - international diplomacy - legal approvals Key Concepts administrative inertia institutional inertia Questions to Reflect On - How can you cut through red tape efficiently? - What small steps can reduce frustration? A Different Perspective Even if the process is absurd, outcomes still depend on perseverance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Elephant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elephant/) [Elephants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elephants/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Pregnant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pregnant/) [State department](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/state-department/) ## Related quotes > [My first experience with film was through a still camera. I would sit, very much against my will, with my father in the game…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gavid-hood/my-first-experience-with-film-was-through-a-still-camera-i-would-sit/) [Gavid Hood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gavid-hood/) > [He frowned as he struggled to remember. It was like watching an elephant crochet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-mcdermid/he-frowned-as-he-struggled-to-remember-it-was-like-watching-an/) [Val McDermid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-mcdermid/) > [The knife flaying the elephant does not have to be large, only sharp!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-norton/the-knife-flaying-the-elephant-does-not-have-to-be-large-only-sharp/) [Andre Norton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-norton/) > [The U.N. bureaucracy has grown to elephantine proportions. Now that the Cold War is over, we are asking that elephant to do gymnastics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-albright/the-u-n-bureaucracy-has-grown-to-elephantine-proportions-now-that-the/) [Madeleine Albright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-albright/) > [Making films is about having absolute and foolish confidence; the challenge for all of us is to have the heart of a poet and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-nair/making-films-is-about-having-absolute-and-foolish-confidence-the/) [Mira Nair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-nair/) > [When you hear the elephant music you're hearing what they mean to make.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-soldier/when-you-hear-the-elephant-music-you-re-hearing-what-they-mean-to-make/) Dave Soldier > [I feel as if I go to Africa, I may never come back. I'm just going to live with the animals and adopt an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dianna-agron/i-feel-as-if-i-go-to-africa-i-may-never-come-back-i-m-just-going-to/) [Dianna Agron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dianna-agron/) > [Now he saw another elephant emerge from the place where it had stood hidden in the trees. Very slowly it walked to the mutilated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-lowry/now-he-saw-another-elephant-emerge-from-the-place-where-it-had-stood/) [Lois Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-lowry/) > [when there's an elephant in the room, you can't pretend it isn't there and just discuss the ants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-wittlinger/when-there-s-an-elephant-in-the-room-you-can-t-pretend-it-isn-t-there/) [Ellen Wittlinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-wittlinger/) > [The elephant is never won by anger; nor must that man who would reclaim a lion take him by the teeth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/the-elephant-is-never-won-by-anger-nor-must-that-man-who-would/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [No Child Left Behind ... is a giraffe with an elephant's body. ... You can't take the vision of Ted Kennedy and merge it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-rauschenberger/no-child-left-behind-is-a-giraffe-with-an-elephant-s-body-you-can-t/) Steve Rauschenberger > [And that is how Goodwin problems were always fixed. Fix them on the surface but don't go to the root, always ignoring the elephant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecelia-ahern/and-that-is-how-goodwin-problems-were-always-fixed-fix-them-on-the/) [Cecelia Ahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecelia-ahern/) > [Unlike the primate hand, the elephant's grasping organ is also its nose. Elephants use their trunks not only to reach food but also to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-de-waal/unlike-the-primate-hand-the-elephant-s-grasping-organ-is-also-its/) [Frans de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frans-de-waal/) > [If you've never seen an elephant ski, then you've never been on acid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-izzard/if-you-ve-never-seen-an-elephant-ski-then-you-ve-never-been-on-acid/) [Eddie Izzard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-izzard/) > [I watched a film called 'Elephant' recently. Its not stylish in the sense of expensive suits and Italian cars, but the styling on every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tinie-tempah/i-watched-a-film-called-elephant-recently-its-not-stylish-in-the/) [Tinie Tempah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tinie-tempah/) ## More by Franklin D. Roosevelt > [In a democratic nation, power must be linked with responsibility, and obliged to defend and justify itself within the framework of the general good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/in-a-democratic-nation-power-must-be-linked-with-responsibility-and/) [Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) > [Inquisitiveness is the most useful talent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/inquisitiveness-is-the-most-useful-talent/) [Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) > ['Peace on earth, good will toward men' - democracy must cling to that message. For it is my deep conviction that democracy cannot live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/peace-on-earth-good-will-toward-men-democracy-must-cling-to-that/) [Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) > [I have seen war ... I hate war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/i-have-seen-war-i-hate-war/) [Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) > [I have seen war. I have seen war on land and sea. I have seen blood running from the wounded. I have seen men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/i-have-seen-war-i-have-seen-war-on-land-and-sea-i-have-seen-blood/) [Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) > [All of our people all over the country-except the pure-blooded Indians-are immigrants or descendants of immigrants, including even those who came over here on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/all-of-our-people-all-over-the-country-except-the-pure-blooded/) [Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) > [They have given their sons to the military services. They have stoked the furnaces and hurried the factory wheels. They have made the planes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/they-have-given-their-sons-to-the-military-services-they-have-stoked/) [Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) > [On the European Front the most important development of the past year has been the crushing offensive of the Great Armies of Russia...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/on-the-european-front-the-most-important-development-of-the-past-year/) [Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) > [The core of our defense is the faith we have in the institutions we defend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/the-core-of-our-defense-is-the-faith-we-have-in-the-institutions-we/) [Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) > [War is a contagion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/war-is-a-contagion/) [Franklin D. 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Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) > [Repetition does not transform a lie into a truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/repetition-does-not-transform-a-lie-into-a-truth/) [Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) > [The future lies with those wise political leaders who realize that the great public is interested more in Government than in politics. The growing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/the-future-lies-with-those-wise-political-leaders-who-realize-that/) [Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) [Explore all 521 Franklin D. Roosevelt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) ## More Department quotes > [ \[States and the Federal government are\] coordinate departments of one simple and integral whole... 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Now,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lynch/a-poet-could-write-volumes-about-diners-because-they-re-so-beautiful/) [David Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lynch/) > [The hair department on 'Game of Thrones' is incredible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-dormer/the-hair-department-on-game-of-thrones-is-incredible/) [Natalie Dormer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-dormer/) > [One of the big first computers was called SAGE, which was a missile defense, the first missile-defense computer, which was, like, one of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-andreessen/one-of-the-big-first-computers-was-called-sage-which-was-a-missile/) [Marc Andreessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-andreessen/) > [Perhaps we have failed as human beings. Perhaps we have embarrassed ourselves to the natural world. We have been rigorous and willful in all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sufjan-stevens/perhaps-we-have-failed-as-human-beings-perhaps-we-have-embarrassed/) [Sufjan Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sufjan-stevens/) > [Every name in a TV show has to be run by the legal department first.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gina-bellman/every-name-in-a-tv-show-has-to-be-run-by-the-legal-department-first/) [Gina Bellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gina-bellman/) > [The director makes the movie. 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