--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He had somehow won the race for…" description: "\"“He had somehow won the race for president, but his brain seemed incapable of performing what would be essential tasks in his new job. He had no abilit..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f9d/michael-wolff-423_cause-and-effect_he-had-somehow-won-the-race-for-presiden_978785.jpg" --- # He had somehow won the race for president, but his brain… ![“He had somehow won the race for president, but his brain seemed incapable of performing what would be essential tasks in his new job. He had no ability to plan and organize and pay attention and switch focus; he had never been able to tailor his behavior to what the goals at hand reasonably…” quote by Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f9d/michael-wolff-423_cause-and-effect_he-had-somehow-won-the-race-for-presiden_978785.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f9d/michael-wolff-423_cause-and-effect_he-had-somehow-won-the-race-for-presiden_978785.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f9d/michael-wolff-423_cause-and-effect_he-had-somehow-won-the-race-for-presiden_978785.jpg) > ““He had somehow won the race for president, but his brain seemed incapable of performing what would be essential tasks in his new job. He had no ability to plan and organize and pay attention and switch focus; he had never been able to tailor his behavior to what the goals at hand reasonably required. On the most basic level, he simply could not link cause and effect.”” [Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A leader lacking basic cognitive skills cannot effectively govern, leading to poor decision‑making. **In simple terms:** Poor cognitive abilities hinder leadership. Key Takeaway Assess and develop critical thinking skills. Themes leadership competence cognitive function Mood critical analytical Type political analytical When to use this quote - government - corporate management - team leadership Key Concepts executive dysfunction political psychology Questions to Reflect On - What steps can improve decision‑making? - How do you identify cognitive gaps in leadership? A Different Perspective Complex issues may require more than simple competence. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cause and effect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cause-and-effect/) [New job](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-job/) ## Related quotes > [“Previous presidents, and not just Clinton, have of course lacked scruples. 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You can have the president help you. Use the popularity that he has. That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-michael-cillizza/don-t-rely-on-the-president-to-win-you-the-race-you-can-have-the/) [Christopher Michael Cillizza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-michael-cillizza/) > [The natural result of people preferring one of their own race is that a minority race president will find it hard to get elected,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-hsien-loong/the-natural-result-of-people-preferring-one-of-their-own-race-is-that/) [Lee Hsien Loong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-hsien-loong/) > [“On the most basic level, he simply could not link cause and effect.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/on-the-most-basic-level-he-simply-could-not-link-cause-and-effect/) [Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) > [Reforming the way the state works with businesses and providing incentives for employers will help preserve and create new jobs in Massachusetts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitt-romney/reforming-the-way-the-state-works-with-businesses-and-providing/) [Mitt Romney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitt-romney/) > [Our economy is on the move and we are creating thousands of new jobs, but we need to keep our foot on the gas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitt-romney/our-economy-is-on-the-move-and-we-are-creating-thousands-of-new-jobs/) [Mitt Romney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitt-romney/) > [By reducing our dependence of foreign oil and increasing alternative energy sources such as ethanol, we can begin to bring down prices at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-ryun/by-reducing-our-dependence-of-foreign-oil-and-increasing-alternative/) [Jim Ryun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-ryun/) > [The next day I was put on paid leave from my new job at Louisiana State University. 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You're embarking on a new future, positioning yourself to write a fresh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adena-friedman/starting-a-new-job-can-be-nerve-racking-but-it-s-also-exciting-you-re/) [Adena Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adena-friedman/) ## More by Michael Wolff > [Donald Trump doesn't necessarily stay mad for very long. He's a transactional guy. If you can offer him something, he will take it. Or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/donald-trump-doesn-t-necessarily-stay-mad-for-very-long-he-s-a/) [Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) > [“he could yet make a case for a straight line from Nixon to Trump.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/he-could-yet-make-a-case-for-a-straight-line-from-nixon-to-trump/) [Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) > [“it confirmed Bannon’s worst fear: Trump, in his true heart, was a marshmallow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/it-confirmed-bannon-s-worst-fear-trump-in-his-true-heart-was-a/) [Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) > [“An important aspect of Kaplan’s New York Observer and its self-conscious inside media baseball was that the paper became the prime school for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/an-important-aspect-of-kaplan-s-new-york-observer-and-its-self/) [Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) > [“The candidate who billed himself as a billionaire—ten times over—refused even to invest his own money in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/the-candidate-who-billed-himself-as-a-billionaire-ten-times-over/) [Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) > [If institutions don't grow, they... well, I don't know what happens to them, because they always grow. 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Please use the search function…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/the-index-that-appeared-in-the-print-version-of-this-title-does-not/) [Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) > [“Trump liked to say that one of the things that made life worth living was getting your friends’ wives into bed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/trump-liked-to-say-that-one-of-the-things-that-made-life-worth-living/) [Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) > [“The kids”—Jared and Ivanka—exhibited an increasingly panicked sense that the FBI and DOJ were moving beyond Russian election interference and into family finances. “Ivanka…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/the-kids-jared-and-ivanka-exhibited-an-increasingly-panicked-sense/) [Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) > [I am old enough to think the word 'journalist' is not all that noble a designation. Journalist - that record keeper, quote taker and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/i-am-old-enough-to-think-the-word-journalist-is-not-all-that-noble-a/) [Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) > [“Politics had seemed to become, even well before the age of Trump, a mortal affair. It was now zero-sum: When one side profited, another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/politics-had-seemed-to-become-even-well-before-the-age-of-trump-a/) [Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) [Explore all 570 Michael Wolff quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) ## More Cause and effect quotes > [Time travel offends our sense of cause and effect - but maybe the universe doesn't insist on cause and effect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-m-lerner/time-travel-offends-our-sense-of-cause-and-effect-but-maybe-the/) [Edward M. 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Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [Nearest to all things is that power which fashions their being. Next to us the grandest laws are constantly being executed. Next to us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/nearest-to-all-things-is-that-power-which-fashions-their-being-next/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“There are two types of purushartha (self effort): those with wrong beliefs have self effort (purusharth) with illusory vision and the enlightened one’s have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/there-are-two-types-of-purushartha-self-effort-those-with-wrong/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [The Law of Karma is also called the Law of Cause and Effect, Action and Reaction and also as you sow, so shall you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sham-hinduja/the-law-of-karma-is-also-called-the-law-of-cause-and-effect-action/) [Sham Hinduja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sham-hinduja/) > [Soft fantasy worlds have a much looser cause-and-effect relationship. Alchemists can turn lead into gold and nobody wonders about how it will impact the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/soft-fantasy-worlds-have-a-much-looser-cause-and-effect-relationship/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Cause and effect is as absolute and undeviating in the hidden realm of thought as in the world of visible and material things. 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