--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A newcomer could ascertain the identity…" description: "\"“A newcomer could ascertain the identity of a town's true leaders – which storekeeper was respected, which farmer was listened to other farmers – only ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e18/robert-a-caro-15999_influence_a-newcomer-could-ascertain-the-identity_453668.jpg" --- # A newcomer could ascertain the identity of a town's true… ![“A newcomer could ascertain the identity of a town's true leaders – which storekeeper was respected, which farmer was listened to other farmers – only through endless hours of subtle probing of reticent men.” quote by Robert A. Caro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e18/robert-a-caro-15999_influence_a-newcomer-could-ascertain-the-identity_453668.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e18/robert-a-caro-15999_influence_a-newcomer-could-ascertain-the-identity_453668.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e18/robert-a-caro-15999_influence_a-newcomer-could-ascertain-the-identity_453668.jpg) > ““A newcomer could ascertain the identity of a town's true leaders – which storekeeper was respected, which farmer was listened to other farmers – only through endless hours of subtle probing of reticent men.”” [Robert A. Caro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-caro/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Power structures are revealed through subtle observation of everyday interactions and respect. **In simple terms:** Observe everyday respect to see true power. Key Takeaway Look beyond titles for influence. Themes power social dynamics observation Mood analytical insightful Type nonfiction political analysis When to use this quote - political analysis - community study - leadership training Key Concepts leadership hierarchy social capital Questions to Reflect On - How do you identify hidden leaders? - What cues signal true influence? A Different Perspective Subtle cues can be misleading. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Influence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/influence/) [Leadership](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leadership/) [Relationships](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relationships/) ## Related quotes > [My coach, Robert Allen, helped me a lot. He had more influence on my growth as a player than anyone else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lamarcus-aldridge/my-coach-robert-allen-helped-me-a-lot-he-had-more-influence-on-my/) [LaMarcus Aldridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lamarcus-aldridge/) > [It was both necessary and desirable for us to be so strong at sea that no Sea Power could attack us without risk, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernhard-von-bulow/it-was-both-necessary-and-desirable-for-us-to-be-so-strong-at-sea/) [Bernhard von Bulow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernhard-von-bulow/) > [Influences come from everywhere. I don't really feel like I had too many influences for the first record because I grew up listening to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avril-lavigne/influences-come-from-everywhere-i-don-t-really-feel-like-i-had-too/) [Avril Lavigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avril-lavigne/) > [My influences are jazz, blues, European classical music; they are rock music and pop music. So many kinds of music. World music from different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rokia-traore/my-influences-are-jazz-blues-european-classical-music-they-are-rock/) [Rokia Traore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rokia-traore/) > [Every man is a missionary, now and forever, for good or for evil, whether he intends or designs it or not. He may be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-chalmers/every-man-is-a-missionary-now-and-forever-for-good-or-for-evil/) [Thomas Chalmers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-chalmers/) > [It seemed to me that the human beings I met reacted pretty much the same to the same stimuli. Different idioms,yes. Circumstances and conditions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zora-neale-hurston/it-seemed-to-me-that-the-human-beings-i-met-reacted-pretty-much-the/) [Zora Neale Hurston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zora-neale-hurston/) > [We believe a scientist because he can substantiate his remarks, not because he is eloquent and forcible in his enunciation. In fact, we distrust…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i-a-richards/we-believe-a-scientist-because-he-can-substantiate-his-remarks-not/) [I. A. Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/i-a-richards/) > [... a fellow can't predict what he will pick up in the form of influence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/a-fellow-can-t-predict-what-he-will-pick-up-in-the-form-of-influence/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [Treason implies responsibility for something, control over something, influence upon something, knowledge of something. Treason in our time is a proof of genius. Why,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/treason-implies-responsibility-for-something-control-over-something/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [Words can only have an effect on you if you choose to listen to them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernajoy-vaal/words-can-only-have-an-effect-on-you-if-you-choose-to-listen-to-them/) [Bernajoy Vaal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernajoy-vaal/) > [I really like a lot of American country stuff, so my music has that influence, but I don't like to be set within a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jade-bird/i-really-like-a-lot-of-american-country-stuff-so-my-music-has-that/) [Jade Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jade-bird/) > [ Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. My three \[great teachers\] did not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/teaching-might-even-be-the-greatest-of-the-arts-since-the-medium-is/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [DECIDE, v.i. To succumb to the preponderance of one set of influences over another set.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/decide-v-i-to-succumb-to-the-preponderance-of-one-set-of-influences/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [Life is not about how much you have but how much you have affect others life positively.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-not-about-how-much-you-have-but-how-much-you-have-affect/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Obligation is what's leading us to toward successful, and what keeps us moving towards the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wazim-shaw/obligation-is-what-s-leading-us-to-toward-successful-and-what-keeps/) [Wazim Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wazim-shaw/) ## More by Robert A. Caro > [“And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country” that they summoned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-caro/and-so-my-fellow-americans-ask-not-what-your-country-can-do-for-you/) [Robert A. Caro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-caro/) > [“And, in fact, had Johnson’s plan succeeded, in many ways it would indeed have been “just the way it was.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-caro/and-in-fact-had-johnson-s-plan-succeeded-in-many-ways-it-would-indeed/) [Robert A. Caro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-caro/) > [“As one 1935 study put it, boys and girls who were 15 or 16 in 1929 when the Depression began are no longer children;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-caro/as-one-1935-study-put-it-boys-and-girls-who-were-15-or-16-in-1929/) [Robert A. Caro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-caro/) > [“On the rare occasions on which a movie was shown, there was as much suspense in the audience over whether the electricity would hold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-caro/on-the-rare-occasions-on-which-a-movie-was-shown-there-was-as-much/) [Robert A. Caro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-caro/) > [“Abraham Lincoln struck off the chains of black Americans, but it was Lyndon Johnson who led them into voting booths, closed democracy’s sacred curtain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-caro/abraham-lincoln-struck-off-the-chains-of-black-americans-but-it-was/) [Robert A. Caro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-caro/) > [“I, sir, take a different view of the whole matter. I look upon Ohio and South Carolina to be parts of one whole—parts of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-caro/i-sir-take-a-different-view-of-the-whole-matter-i-look-upon-ohio-and/) [Robert A. Caro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-caro/) > [“MR. CALHOUN.   Never, never. MR. WEBSTER.   What he means he is very apt to say. MR. CALHOUN.   Always, always. MR. WEBSTER.   And I honor him for it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-caro/mr-calhoun-never-never-mr-webster-what-he-means-he-is-very-apt-to-say/) [Robert A. Caro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-caro/) > [“When Silent Cal Coolidge noted that “You don’t have to explain something you haven’t said,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-caro/when-silent-cal-coolidge-noted-that-you-don-t-have-to-explain/) [Robert A. Caro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-caro/) > [“...his success in public relations had been due primarily to his masterful utilization of a single public relations technique: identifying himself with a popular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-caro/his-success-in-public-relations-had-been-due-primarily-to-his/) [Robert A. Caro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-caro/) > [“With a note of sadness, Wicker wrote in 1983 that “the reverence, the childlike dependence, the willingness to follow where the President leads, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-caro/with-a-note-of-sadness-wicker-wrote-in-1983-that-the-reverence-the/) [Robert A. Caro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-caro/) > [“He won that election in the byways,” Bill Deason says. Ava Cox says: “That’s what made Lyndon Johnson be elected the first time.… He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-caro/he-won-that-election-in-the-byways-bill-deason-says-ava-cox-says-that/) [Robert A. Caro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-caro/) > [“IS WHERE POWER GOES”: the most significant factor in any equation that adds up to political power, Lyndon Johnson had assured his allies, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-caro/is-where-power-goes-the-most-significant-factor-in-any-equation-that/) [Robert A. Caro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-caro/) > [“A candidate who, night after night, tries “to capitalize on the emotion of honest patriotism, cheapens the impulse.… It is like playing on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-caro/a-candidate-who-night-after-night-tries-to-capitalize-on-the-emotion/) [Robert A. Caro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-caro/) > [“Ask not what you have done for Lyndon Johnson, but what you have done for him lately.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-caro/ask-not-what-you-have-done-for-lyndon-johnson-but-what-you-have-done/) [Robert A. Caro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-caro/) > [“BUT WHAT, really, had the People’s Party—the farmers who called themselves “Alliancemen”—asked for? Only that when men found themselves at the mercy of forces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-caro/but-what-really-had-the-people-s-party-the-farmers-who-called/) [Robert A. Caro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-caro/) [Explore all 41 Robert A. Caro quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-caro/) ## More Influence quotes > [My coach, Robert Allen, helped me a lot. He had more influence on my growth as a player than anyone else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lamarcus-aldridge/my-coach-robert-allen-helped-me-a-lot-he-had-more-influence-on-my/) [LaMarcus Aldridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lamarcus-aldridge/) > [Life is not about how much you have but how much you have affect others life positively.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-not-about-how-much-you-have-but-how-much-you-have-affect/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [DECIDE, v.i. To succumb to the preponderance of one set of influences over another set.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/decide-v-i-to-succumb-to-the-preponderance-of-one-set-of-influences/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [ Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. My three \[great teachers\] did not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/teaching-might-even-be-the-greatest-of-the-arts-since-the-medium-is/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [I really like a lot of American country stuff, so my music has that influence, but I don't like to be set within a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jade-bird/i-really-like-a-lot-of-american-country-stuff-so-my-music-has-that/) [Jade Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jade-bird/) > [Words can only have an effect on you if you choose to listen to them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernajoy-vaal/words-can-only-have-an-effect-on-you-if-you-choose-to-listen-to-them/) [Bernajoy Vaal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernajoy-vaal/) > [Treason implies responsibility for something, control over something, influence upon something, knowledge of something. Treason in our time is a proof of genius. Why,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/treason-implies-responsibility-for-something-control-over-something/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [... a fellow can't predict what he will pick up in the form of influence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/a-fellow-can-t-predict-what-he-will-pick-up-in-the-form-of-influence/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [We believe a scientist because he can substantiate his remarks, not because he is eloquent and forcible in his enunciation. In fact, we distrust…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i-a-richards/we-believe-a-scientist-because-he-can-substantiate-his-remarks-not/) [I. A. Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/i-a-richards/) > [It seemed to me that the human beings I met reacted pretty much the same to the same stimuli. Different idioms,yes. Circumstances and conditions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zora-neale-hurston/it-seemed-to-me-that-the-human-beings-i-met-reacted-pretty-much-the/) [Zora Neale Hurston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zora-neale-hurston/) > [Every man is a missionary, now and forever, for good or for evil, whether he intends or designs it or not. He may be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-chalmers/every-man-is-a-missionary-now-and-forever-for-good-or-for-evil/) [Thomas Chalmers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-chalmers/) > [My influences are jazz, blues, European classical music; they are rock music and pop music. So many kinds of music. World music from different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rokia-traore/my-influences-are-jazz-blues-european-classical-music-they-are-rock/) [Rokia Traore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rokia-traore/) > [Influences come from everywhere. I don't really feel like I had too many influences for the first record because I grew up listening to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avril-lavigne/influences-come-from-everywhere-i-don-t-really-feel-like-i-had-too/) [Avril Lavigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avril-lavigne/) > [It was both necessary and desirable for us to be so strong at sea that no Sea Power could attack us without risk, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernhard-von-bulow/it-was-both-necessary-and-desirable-for-us-to-be-so-strong-at-sea/) [Bernhard von Bulow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernhard-von-bulow/) > [Obligation is what's leading us to toward successful, and what keeps us moving towards the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wazim-shaw/obligation-is-what-s-leading-us-to-toward-successful-and-what-keeps/) [Wazim Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wazim-shaw/) [Browse all 7,121 Influence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/influence/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“A newcomer could ascertain the identity of a town's true leaders – which storekeeper was respected, which farmer was listened to other farmers – only through endless hours of subtle probing of reticent men.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert A. 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