Dwight Quote by Harry S. Truman
“I tend to pair up Benjamin Harrison and Dwight Eisenhower because they're the two presidents I can think of who most preferred laziness to labor… There's not much else you can say about Harrison except that he was president of the United States.”
About This Quote
A cynical observation that some leaders favor ease over effort, highlighting a perceived lack of substantive achievement.
In simple terms: Leaders may choose laziness over work.
Key Takeaway
Question the value of effort in leadership.
Themes
politics
leadership
criticism
Mood
skeptical
wry
Type
political
humorous
When to use this quote
- political commentary
- casual conversation
Key Concepts
laziness
effort
historical perception
Questions to Reflect On
- Do we judge leaders fairly?
- What defines productive leadership?
A Different Perspective
The claim oversimplifies complex historical contexts.
![“I played with [Dwight Eisenhower] on the day after I won the Masters at his request. We became everlasting friends. I was with him the day before he died at Walter Reed.” quote by Arnold Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/e2c/arnold-palmer-2127_died_i-played-with-dwight-eisenhower-on-the-d_141346.jpg)
![“President [ Dwight] Eisenhower warned us, five star general, he said watch out for the military-industrial complex. That's a threat to our freedom, to our economy, and what we have now is a gigantic taxpayer draining empire that is devouring itself, which, as you say, it's creating more…” quote by Ralph Nader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/4ec/ralph-nader-1783_complexes_president-dwight-eisenhower-warned-us-fi_2132041.jpg)
![“[Dwight Eisenhower was ] a citizen of the world.” quote by Mark Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/e8d/mark-shields-1572_citizens_dwight-eisenhower-was-a-citizen-of-the-w_1588539.jpg)
![“I wish we had more [Dwight] Eisenhower Republicans in this [Donald]Trump cabinet.” quote by E. J. Dionne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/396/e-j-dionne-18102_cabinets_i-wish-we-had-more-dwight-eisenhower-rep_720383.jpg)
![“We just became very good friends [with Dwight Eisenhower], we played golf, we played heart exhibitions. Then his doctor said he should not play golf anymore.” quote by Arnold Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/4df/arnold-palmer-2127_doctors_we-just-became-very-good-friends-with-dw_500540.jpg)
![“I think it [presidency of Dwight Eisenhower] came too late and I think that he is not on the wavelength of this dreadful time through which we're living.” quote by Malcolm Muggeridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/442/malcolm-muggeridge-2370_dwight_i-think-it-presidency-of-dwight-eisenhow_270940.jpg)
![“I think that President [Dwight] Eisenhower was... did the most marvelous job in the war, not really a military job: a public relations job, and it was essential that there should be a public relations job done in the post that he had.” quote by Malcolm Muggeridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/4f8/malcolm-muggeridge-2370_done_i-think-that-president-dwight-eisenhower_288256.jpg)
![“When [my dad] was at the University of Michigan, my mom was a social-worker. As he rose, he voted for [Adlai] Stevenson initially. Then he voted for [Dwight] Eisenhower. Then he kept voting Republican until he voted for Barack Obama. So that's kind of amazing. But he was offered a cabinet post by…” quote by Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/f11/bill-ayers-1848_barack_when-my-dad-was-at-the-university-of-mic_501515.jpg)
![“My dad challenged every president from President [Dwight] Eisenhower and Vice President [Richard] Nixon to President [J.F] Kennedy, Vice President [Lindon] Johnson to President Johnson and Vice President [Hubert] Humphrey. It's challenging the administrations to do the right thing.” quote by Al Sharpton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/cba/al-sharpton-2091_administration_my-dad-challenged-every-president-from-p_506712.jpg)
![“[My father ] came home from World War II and he voted for [Dwight] Eisenhower. He was pretty thoughtful about those things, but never, as I said, ever campaigned for anybody. He let me put a [Barry] Goldwater sticker on his pickup truck, but he never put a bumper sticker on his car. We never had a…” quote by Jeff Sessions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/675/jeff-sessions-2380_bumper_my-father-came-home-from-world-war-ii-an_539222.jpg)