--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Howie was a senior government comms…" description: "\"“Howie was a senior government comms professional. An ability to be economical with the truth was an essential requirement for the job.”\" — Paul Mathews" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/510/paul-mathews-32936_politics_howie-was-a-senior-government-comms-prof_259643.jpg" --- # Howie was a senior government comms professional. An… ![“Howie was a senior government comms professional. An ability to be economical with the truth was an essential requirement for the job.” quote by Paul Mathews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/510/paul-mathews-32936_politics_howie-was-a-senior-government-comms-prof_259643.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/510/paul-mathews-32936_politics_howie-was-a-senior-government-comms-prof_259643.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/510/paul-mathews-32936_politics_howie-was-a-senior-government-comms-prof_259643.jpg) > ““Howie was a senior government comms professional. An ability to be economical with the truth was an essential requirement for the job.”” [Paul Mathews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-mathews/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote highlights the necessity of strategic truth‑bending in certain professional roles. **In simple terms:** Being economical with truth is required. Key Takeaway Balance honesty with strategic communication. Themes ethics communication government work Mood critical analytical Type professional ethical When to use this quote - political campaigns - public relations - crisis management Key Concepts strategic messaging information control Questions to Reflect On - When is it acceptable to with facts? - What are the long‑term costs? A Different Perspective Manipulation can erode public trust. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Comms Professional](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comms-professional-2562248/) [Economical Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economical-truth-2562250/) [Government Comms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government-comms-2562249/) [Howie Senior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/howie-senior-2562247/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Requirement Job](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/requirement-job-2562251/) ## Related quotes > [“He either lied to us or was economical with the truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-gibney/he-either-lied-to-us-or-was-economical-with-the-truth/) [Patricia Gibney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-gibney/) > [Never be economical with truth, it is the strongest currency made available to you by divine nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tasneem-hameed/never-be-economical-with-truth-it-is-the-strongest-currency-made/) [Tasneem Hameed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tasneem-hameed/) > [The notion of a non-religious Christmas is ridiculous. But so is the insistence on the part of Christians that politicians and retailers carry out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-campos-duffy/the-notion-of-a-non-religious-christmas-is-ridiculous-but-so-is-the/) [Rachel Campos-Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-campos-duffy/) > [We have to build our own power. We have to win every single political office we can, where we have a majority of black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/we-have-to-build-our-own-power-we-have-to-win-every-single-political/) [Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/) > [“Jim Reston: Walking through the crowds of air-kissing politicians, actors and high fliers, it was tough to tell where the politics stopped and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-morgan/jim-reston-walking-through-the-crowds-of-air-kissing-politicians/) [Peter Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-morgan/) > [One of the worst things to come out of the Consumer Protection Board's misleading claims is the impression that government resources are to hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-lesko/one-of-the-worst-things-to-come-out-of-the-consumer-protection-board/) [Matthew Lesko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-lesko/) > [Right now we're concerned about budget. Right now we're concerned about the prospect of interest rate rise. We're concerned about government corruption, government handing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amity-shlaes/right-now-we-re-concerned-about-budget-right-now-we-re-concerned/) [Amity Shlaes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amity-shlaes/) > [Scepticism and cynicism about politics is so great that one of the best counters to it is what you can do at a local…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-miliband/scepticism-and-cynicism-about-politics-is-so-great-that-one-of-the/) [Ed Miliband](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-miliband/) > [“The global population of Earth are involved in the following corporate government experiments: The long term effects of - 1. Nuclear bomb fallout radiation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/the-global-population-of-earth-are-involved-in-the-following/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [For the Scottish government, the practice of having meetings in different parts of the country is well established, but for the U.K. government, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-sturgeon/for-the-scottish-government-the-practice-of-having-meetings-in/) [Nicola Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-sturgeon/) > [Politics is not an issue whether you like or dislike , but every citizen must involve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khem-veasna/politics-is-not-an-issue-whether-you-like-or-dislike-but-every/) [Khem Veasna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khem-veasna/) > [We could form a government of national unity fighting corruption. The ordinary Afghan is sick and tired of it, because it's she or he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashraf-ghani/we-could-form-a-government-of-national-unity-fighting-corruption-the/) [Ashraf Ghani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashraf-ghani/) > [“Only careful political manoeuvring will be able to manage the situation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/davan-yahya-khalil/only-careful-political-manoeuvring-will-be-able-to-manage-the/) [Davan Yahya Khalil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/davan-yahya-khalil/) > [Crony capitalism is essentially a condition in which... public officials are giving favours to people in the private sector in payment of political favours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/crony-capitalism-is-essentially-a-condition-in-which-public-officials/) [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) > [Sentiment is the mightiest force in civilization; not sentimentality, but sentiment. Women will bring this into politics. Home, sweet home, is as powerful on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-ellen-foster/sentiment-is-the-mightiest-force-in-civilization-not-sentimentality/) [Judith Ellen Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-ellen-foster/) ## More by Paul Mathews > [“Extraordinary situations call for radical solutions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-mathews/extraordinary-situations-call-for-radical-solutions/) [Paul Mathews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-mathews/) > [“Sta-ra ponch-car-nia,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-mathews/sta-ra-ponch-car-nia/) [Paul Mathews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-mathews/) > [“We should definitely write a book – The Psychology of Presidents: A guide for dealing with the democratically elected and delusional.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-mathews/we-should-definitely-write-a-book-the-psychology-of-presidents-a/) [Paul Mathews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-mathews/) > [“President Lisse gritted his teeth. ‘You know this is blackmail?’ ‘I prefer to call it a “mutually beneficial bilateral agreement”.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-mathews/president-lisse-gritted-his-teeth-you-know-this-is-blackmail-i-prefer/) [Paul Mathews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-mathews/) > [“If I screwed people over all the time, I wouldn’t be where I am today.’ Oskar didn’t look completely convinced. Possibly because he’d got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-mathews/if-i-screwed-people-over-all-the-time-i-wouldn-t-be-where-i-am-today/) [Paul Mathews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-mathews/) > [“that didn’t always count for”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-mathews/that-didn-t-always-count-for/) [Paul Mathews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-mathews/) > [“I’m voting for him! He may not be the sharpest tool in the box, but at least he doesn’t walk around with a face…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-mathews/i-m-voting-for-him-he-may-not-be-the-sharpest-tool-in-the-box-but-at/) [Paul Mathews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-mathews/) > [“Without a leader, self-interest would be king.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-mathews/without-a-leader-self-interest-would-be-king/) [Paul Mathews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-mathews/) > [“What the hell happened to you? You look like you’ve been digging up a dead body.’ She raised her eyebrows. ‘Not my husband?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-mathews/what-the-hell-happened-to-you-you-look-like-you-ve-been-digging-up-a/) [Paul Mathews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-mathews/) > [“the media never let anything inconvenient like facts get in the way of a good headline.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-mathews/the-media-never-let-anything-inconvenient-like-facts-get-in-the-way/) [Paul Mathews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-mathews/) > [“Why? What’s happening this evening?’ ‘The”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-mathews/why-what-s-happening-this-evening-the/) [Paul Mathews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-mathews/) > [“Howie wondered to himself why human beings had never developed the ability to shut their ears, as well as their eyes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-mathews/howie-wondered-to-himself-why-human-beings-had-never-developed-the/) [Paul Mathews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-mathews/) > [“There was no point dwelling on the past. Not when there were mini doughnuts to be eaten in the present.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-mathews/there-was-no-point-dwelling-on-the-past-not-when-there-were-mini/) [Paul Mathews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-mathews/) [Explore all 14 Paul Mathews quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-mathews/) ## More Politics quotes > [Sentiment is the mightiest force in civilization; not sentimentality, but sentiment. Women will bring this into politics. Home, sweet home, is as powerful on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-ellen-foster/sentiment-is-the-mightiest-force-in-civilization-not-sentimentality/) [Judith Ellen Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-ellen-foster/) > [Crony capitalism is essentially a condition in which... public officials are giving favours to people in the private sector in payment of political favours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/crony-capitalism-is-essentially-a-condition-in-which-public-officials/) [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) > [“Only careful political manoeuvring will be able to manage the situation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/davan-yahya-khalil/only-careful-political-manoeuvring-will-be-able-to-manage-the/) [Davan Yahya Khalil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/davan-yahya-khalil/) > [We could form a government of national unity fighting corruption. The ordinary Afghan is sick and tired of it, because it's she or he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashraf-ghani/we-could-form-a-government-of-national-unity-fighting-corruption-the/) [Ashraf Ghani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashraf-ghani/) > [Politics is not an issue whether you like or dislike , but every citizen must involve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khem-veasna/politics-is-not-an-issue-whether-you-like-or-dislike-but-every/) [Khem Veasna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khem-veasna/) > [For the Scottish government, the practice of having meetings in different parts of the country is well established, but for the U.K. government, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-sturgeon/for-the-scottish-government-the-practice-of-having-meetings-in/) [Nicola Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-sturgeon/) > [“The global population of Earth are involved in the following corporate government experiments: The long term effects of - 1. Nuclear bomb fallout radiation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/the-global-population-of-earth-are-involved-in-the-following/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [Scepticism and cynicism about politics is so great that one of the best counters to it is what you can do at a local…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-miliband/scepticism-and-cynicism-about-politics-is-so-great-that-one-of-the/) [Ed Miliband](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-miliband/) > [Right now we're concerned about budget. Right now we're concerned about the prospect of interest rate rise. We're concerned about government corruption, government handing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amity-shlaes/right-now-we-re-concerned-about-budget-right-now-we-re-concerned/) [Amity Shlaes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amity-shlaes/) > [One of the worst things to come out of the Consumer Protection Board's misleading claims is the impression that government resources are to hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-lesko/one-of-the-worst-things-to-come-out-of-the-consumer-protection-board/) [Matthew Lesko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-lesko/) > [“Jim Reston: Walking through the crowds of air-kissing politicians, actors and high fliers, it was tough to tell where the politics stopped and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-morgan/jim-reston-walking-through-the-crowds-of-air-kissing-politicians/) [Peter Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-morgan/) > [We have to build our own power. We have to win every single political office we can, where we have a majority of black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/we-have-to-build-our-own-power-we-have-to-win-every-single-political/) [Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/) > [The notion of a non-religious Christmas is ridiculous. But so is the insistence on the part of Christians that politicians and retailers carry out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-campos-duffy/the-notion-of-a-non-religious-christmas-is-ridiculous-but-so-is-the/) [Rachel Campos-Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-campos-duffy/) > [A man who kills on his own is a murderer. A man who kills at his government's request is a national hero.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramman-kenoun/a-man-who-kills-on-his-own-is-a-murderer-a-man-who-kills-at-his/) [Ramman Kenoun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramman-kenoun/) > [Politics in Philadelphia is a contact sport.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-nutter/politics-in-philadelphia-is-a-contact-sport/) [Michael Nutter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-nutter/) [Browse all 44,914 Politics quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Howie was a senior government comms professional. An ability to be economical with the truth was an essential requirement for the job.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Paul Mathews" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-mathews/howie-was-a-senior-government-comms-professional-an-ability-to-be/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Politics" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-mathews/howie-was-a-senior-government-comms-professional-an-ability-to-be/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/510/paul-mathews-32936_politics_howie-was-a-senior-government-comms-prof_259643.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/510/paul-mathews-32936_politics_howie-was-a-senior-government-comms-prof_259643.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/510/paul-mathews-32936_politics_howie-was-a-senior-government-comms-prof_259643.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Howie was a senior government comms professional. An ability to be economical with the truth was an…” — Paul Mathews", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Paul Mathews", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-mathews/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Howie was a senior government comms...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-mathews/howie-was-a-senior-government-comms-professional-an-ability-to-be/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-mathews/howie-was-a-senior-government-comms-professional-an-ability-to-be/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```