--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Henry Kissinger may have wished I had…" description: "\"Henry Kissinger may have wished I had presented him as a combination of Charles DeGaulle and Disraeli, but I didn't…out of respect for DeGaulle and Dis..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c7/oriana-fallaci-3082_combination_henry-kissinger-may-have-wished-i-had-pr_16964.png" --- # Henry Kissinger may have wished I had presented him as a… ![“Henry Kissinger may have wished I had presented him as a combination of Charles DeGaulle and Disraeli, but I didn't…out of respect for DeGaulle and Disraeli. I described him as a cowboy because that is how he describes himself. If I were a cowboy I would be offended.” quote by Oriana Fallaci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c7/oriana-fallaci-3082_combination_henry-kissinger-may-have-wished-i-had-pr_16964.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c7/oriana-fallaci-3082_combination_henry-kissinger-may-have-wished-i-had-pr_16964.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c7/oriana-fallaci-3082_combination_henry-kissinger-may-have-wished-i-had-pr_16964.png) > “Henry Kissinger may have wished I had presented him as a combination of Charles DeGaulle and Disraeli, but I didn't…out of respect for DeGaulle and Disraeli. I described him as a cowboy because that is how he describes himself. If I were a cowboy I would be offended.” [Oriana Fallaci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriana-fallaci/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker critiques the tendency to mythologize powerful figures by comparing them to historic icons, preferring authentic self‑identification over imposed grandeur. **In simple terms:** Rejects inflated historical analogies. Key Takeaway Authenticity over myth. Themes political perception historical analogy identity authenticity power dynamics Mood skeptical wry critical Type political cultural personal When to use this quote - biographical writing - political commentary - media interviews - public speeches Key Concepts image crafting self‑presentation respect for legacy Practical Applications - critical analysis of leadership - cultural criticism Questions to Reflect On - What are the risks of comparing contemporary leaders to historical figures? - How does self‑identification shape public perception? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Combination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/combination/) [Cowboy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cowboy/) [Cowboy Describes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cowboy-describes-385037/) [Cowboy Offended](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cowboy-offended-385039/) [Described Cowboy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/described-cowboy-385036/) [Describes Cowboy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/describes-cowboy-385035/) [Dignity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dignity/) [Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disraeli/) [Disraeli Described](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disraeli-described-385038/) [Henry kissinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/henry-kissinger/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Kissinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kissinger/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Offended](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/offended/) [Would be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/would-be/) ## Related quotes > [Figures often beguile me, particularly when I have the arranging of them myself; in which case the remark attributed to Disraeli would often apply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/figures-often-beguile-me-particularly-when-i-have-the-arranging-of/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Just begin a story with such a phrase as 'I remember Disraeli - poor old Dizz! - once saying to me, in answer to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/just-begin-a-story-with-such-a-phrase-as-i-remember-disraeli-poor-old/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [“But, say what you like, our Queen reigns over the greatest nation that ever existed.” “Which nation?” asked the younger stranger, “for she reigns…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbott-parry/but-say-what-you-like-our-queen-reigns-over-the-greatest-nation-that/) [Edward Abbott Parry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbott-parry/) > [Disraeli was now at the height of his fame and popularity. He still had his enemies... But the people as a whole now admired…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hibbert/disraeli-was-now-at-the-height-of-his-fame-and-popularity-he-still/) [Christopher Hibbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hibbert/) > [When I left the dining room after sitting next to Mr. Gladstone, I thought he was the cleverest man in England. But after sitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/when-i-left-the-dining-room-after-sitting-next-to-mr-gladstone-i/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [Disraeli was my favourite Tory. He was an adventurer pure and simple, or impure and complex. I'm glad to say Gladstone got the better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-foot/disraeli-was-my-favourite-tory-he-was-an-adventurer-pure-and-simple/) [Michael Foot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-foot/) > [“But to “settle” the Eastern Question was beyond even Disraeli’s power—beyond, it seems, any human power, for it still haunts the world today.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-w-tuchman/but-to-settle-the-eastern-question-was-beyond-even-disraeli-s-power/) [Barbara W. Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-w-tuchman/) > [“Caring means cultivating the skills of an active listener. That is easier said than done, as an anecdote about the extraordinary social skills of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-deegan/caring-means-cultivating-the-skills-of-an-active-listener-that-is/) [Marian Deegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-deegan/) > [Deploring change is the unchangeable habit of all Englishmen. If you find any important figures who really like change, such as Bernard Shaw, Keir…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-postgate/deploring-change-is-the-unchangeable-habit-of-all-englishmen-if-you/) [Raymond Postgate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-postgate/) > [You read what Disraeli had to say. I don't remember what he said. He said something. He's no longer with us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dole/you-read-what-disraeli-had-to-say-i-don-t-remember-what-he-said-he/) [Bob Dole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dole/) > [There is little doubt that, until 1846 when he helped to engineer the resignation of Robert Peel, Disraeli was driven by an ambition to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hibbert/there-is-little-doubt-that-until-1846-when-he-helped-to-engineer-the/) [Christopher Hibbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hibbert/) > [A member of Parliament to Disraeli: 'Sir, you will either die on the gallows or of some unspeakable disease.' That depends, Sir,' said Disraeli,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/a-member-of-parliament-to-disraeli-sir-you-will-either-die-on-the/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [Boris Johnson has turned the party of Disraeli and Churchill into a vehicle for shrill English nationalism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-boles/boris-johnson-has-turned-the-party-of-disraeli-and-churchill-into-a/) [Nick Boles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-boles/) > [“Life is too short to be small. —BENJAMIN DISRAELI”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-ferriss/life-is-too-short-to-be-small-benjamin-disraeli/) [Timothy Ferriss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-ferriss/) ## More by Oriana Fallaci > [One day you and I will have to have a little talk about this business called love. I still don't understand what it's all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oriana-fallaci/one-day-you-and-i-will-have-to-have-a-little-talk-about-this-business/) [Oriana Fallaci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriana-fallaci/) > [Europe becomes more and more a province of Islam, a colony of Islam. And Italy is an outpost of that province, a stronghold of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oriana-fallaci/europe-becomes-more-and-more-a-province-of-islam-a-colony-of-islam/) [Oriana Fallaci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriana-fallaci/) > [Journalism is an extraordinary and terrible privilege. Not by chance, if you are aware of it, does it consume you with a hundred feelings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oriana-fallaci/journalism-is-an-extraordinary-and-terrible-privilege-not-by-chance/) [Oriana Fallaci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriana-fallaci/) > [I don't hide. I never have. I stay at home because I like to stay at home, and at home I work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oriana-fallaci/i-don-t-hide-i-never-have-i-stay-at-home-because-i-like-to-stay-at/) [Oriana Fallaci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriana-fallaci/) > [“i live on my books. on my writings, i live on my royalties: the percentage an author recieves on each sold copy. and i…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oriana-fallaci/i-live-on-my-books-on-my-writings-i-live-on-my-royalties-the/) [Oriana Fallaci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriana-fallaci/) > [Whether it comes from a despotic sovereign or an elected president, from a murderous general or a beloved leader, I see power as an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oriana-fallaci/whether-it-comes-from-a-despotic-sovereign-or-an-elected-president/) [Oriana Fallaci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriana-fallaci/) > [How do you dare to ask me for a solution? It's like asking Seneca for a solution. You remember what he did? He committed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oriana-fallaci/how-do-you-dare-to-ask-me-for-a-solution-it-s-like-asking-seneca-for/) [Oriana Fallaci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriana-fallaci/) > [Physical courage is a great test.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oriana-fallaci/physical-courage-is-a-great-test/) [Oriana Fallaci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriana-fallaci/) > [If a man is a man and not a sheep in the flock, he has a survival instinct in him that leads him to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oriana-fallaci/if-a-man-is-a-man-and-not-a-sheep-in-the-flock-he-has-a-survival/) [Oriana Fallaci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriana-fallaci/) > [There are moments in Life when keeping silent becomes a fault, and speaking an obligation. A civic duty, a moral challenge, a categorical imperative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oriana-fallaci/there-are-moments-in-life-when-keeping-silent-becomes-a-fault-and/) [Oriana Fallaci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriana-fallaci/) > [Khomeini was not a puppet like Arafat or Qaddafi or the many other dictators I met in the Islamic world. He was a sort…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oriana-fallaci/khomeini-was-not-a-puppet-like-arafat-or-qaddafi-or-the-many-other/) [Oriana Fallaci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriana-fallaci/) > [Laura Bush has the face of my mother when my mother was young. The face, the body, the voice. The first time I saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oriana-fallaci/laura-bush-has-the-face-of-my-mother-when-my-mother-was-young-the/) [Oriana Fallaci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriana-fallaci/) > [“La guerra è un infanticidio in massa, rinviato di vent'anni.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oriana-fallaci/la-guerra-un-infanticidio-in-massa-rinviato-di-vent-anni/) [Oriana Fallaci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriana-fallaci/) > [America's vulnerability comes precisely from its strength, its wealth, its power and its modernity. It's the usual story of the dog chasing its own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oriana-fallaci/america-s-vulnerability-comes-precisely-from-its-strength-its-wealth/) [Oriana Fallaci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriana-fallaci/) > [I defend Israel's right to exist, to defend themselves, to not let themselves be exterminated a second time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oriana-fallaci/i-defend-israel-s-right-to-exist-to-defend-themselves-to-not-let/) [Oriana Fallaci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriana-fallaci/) [Explore all 118 Oriana Fallaci quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriana-fallaci/) ## More Combination quotes > [Anytime there is any lyrical meaning or combination in my mixes, it's very blatant. I'm not trying to make any statement or anything like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/girl-talk/anytime-there-is-any-lyrical-meaning-or-combination-in-my-mixes-it-s/) [Girl Talk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/girl-talk/) > [We do not claim that punning is legitimate wit. Wit consists in combination of ideas, punning in combination of words only. We wonder at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-hosmer/we-do-not-claim-that-punning-is-legitimate-wit-wit-consists-in/) [Harriet Hosmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-hosmer/) > [A successful director is someone who has the combination of skills that you can learn, but there's also an intuitive sensibility that they bring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-heinrichs/a-successful-director-is-someone-who-has-the-combination-of-skills/) [Rick Heinrichs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-heinrichs/) > [Many humanists have argued that happiness involves a combination of hedonism and creative moral development; that an exuberant life fuses excellence and enjoyment, meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/many-humanists-have-argued-that-happiness-involves-a-combination-of/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) > [Geometry, which should only obey Physics, when united with it sometimes commands it. If it happens that the question which we wish to examine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-le-rond-d-alembert/geometry-which-should-only-obey-physics-when-united-with-it-sometimes/) [Jean le Rond d'Alembert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-le-rond-d-alembert/) > [The combination of such characters, some, as the sacral ones, altogether peculiar among Reptiles, others borrowed, as it were, from groups now distinct from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-owen/the-combination-of-such-characters-some-as-the-sacral-ones-altogether/) [Richard Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-owen/) > [A combination of the qualities of the scholar, the master cook, the painter, the gastronomer, the sportsman and the pantologist, assisted by the skill…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-ellwanger/a-combination-of-the-qualities-of-the-scholar-the-master-cook-the/) [George Ellwanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-ellwanger/) > [I did play a lot of fingerstyle when I first started playing. I could never really find the right combination of flatpick or fingerpick,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-clapton/i-did-play-a-lot-of-fingerstyle-when-i-first-started-playing-i-could/) [Eric Clapton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-clapton/) > [Ballet is pure and demands that you serve something larger than yourself, whether it be beauty or art, or a combination of both. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-martins/ballet-is-pure-and-demands-that-you-serve-something-larger-than/) [Peter Martins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-martins/) > [A thorough understanding of the typical mating continuations makes the most complicated sacrificial combinations leading up to them not only not difficult, but almost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siegbert-tarrasch/a-thorough-understanding-of-the-typical-mating-continuations-makes/) [Siegbert Tarrasch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siegbert-tarrasch/) > [I am a combination of my entire family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dionne-warwick/i-am-a-combination-of-my-entire-family/) [Dionne Warwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dionne-warwick/) > [As I work day after day, inspirations from different places go into the work. It's combination, but it's also comparative. I'll be reading two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-banisadr/as-i-work-day-after-day-inspirations-from-different-places-go-into/) [Ali Banisadr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-banisadr/) > [Emile Zola was a poor student at his school at Aix. 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I described him as a cowboy because that is how he describes himself. 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