--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We need a commander in chief not a…" description: "\"We need a commander in chief not a professor of law standing at a lectern - the lectern.\" — Sarah Palin" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34d/sarah-palin-1441_chief_we-need-a-commander-in-chief-not-a-profe_1604071.png" --- # We need a commander in chief not a professor of law… ![“We need a commander in chief not a professor of law standing at a lectern - the lectern.” quote by Sarah Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34d/sarah-palin-1441_chief_we-need-a-commander-in-chief-not-a-profe_1604071.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34d/sarah-palin-1441_chief_we-need-a-commander-in-chief-not-a-profe_1604071.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34d/sarah-palin-1441_chief_we-need-a-commander-in-chief-not-a-profe_1604071.png) > “We need a commander in chief not a professor of law standing at a lectern - the lectern.” [Sarah Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-palin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Leadership should be decisive and practical, not purely academic. **In simple terms:** Leaders need real‑world experience. Key Takeaway Prioritize practical leadership. Themes politics leadership experience Mood assertive critical Type political motivational When to use this quote - campaign rallies - government appointments - crisis management Key Concepts governance authority policy making Questions to Reflect On - What qualities make a leader effective? - Can academic knowledge complement practical leadership? A Different Perspective Academic expertise alone may not translate into effective governance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Chief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chief/) [Chiefs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chiefs/) [Commander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commander/) [Commander Chief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commander-chief/) [Commander in chief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commander-in-chief/) [Commanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commanders/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Need Commander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/need-commander-2403726/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [Professors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/professors/) [Standing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/standing/) [Standing Lectern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/standing-lectern-6105006/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [Winning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/winning/) ## Related quotes > [To win this war, we need a commander in chief, not a professor of law standing at the lectern.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-palin/to-win-this-war-we-need-a-commander-in-chief-not-a-professor-of-law/) [Sarah Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-palin/) > [ To win that war \[with radical Islamic extremists\] we need a commander-in-chief, not a professor of law standing at the lectern. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-palin/to-win-that-war-with-radical-islamic-extremists-we-need-a-commander/) [Sarah Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-palin/) > [We need to have a commander-in-chief who knows what she is doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-r-allen/we-need-to-have-a-commander-in-chief-who-knows-what-she-is-doing/) [John R. Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-r-allen/) > [I am the commander in chief of the United States armed forces, and Iraq is gonna have to ultimately provide for its own security.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/i-am-the-commander-in-chief-of-the-united-states-armed-forces-and/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [It is the Creator´s Grand Army, and he is the Commander-in-Chief... With these facts before you, now try to guess man´s chiefest pet name…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-is-the-creator-s-grand-army-and-he-is-the-commander-in-chief-with/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [A commander in chief with military experience might be able to prod a conservative military into thinking more imaginatively.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wesley-clark/a-commander-in-chief-with-military-experience-might-be-able-to-prod-a/) [Wesley Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wesley-clark/) > [No commander in chief would ever say, 'I'm not going to listen to the guys on the ground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-mccaskill/no-commander-in-chief-would-ever-say-i-m-not-going-to-listen-to-the/) [Claire McCaskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-mccaskill/) > [I thought they know that I was the Commander in Chief, not that I know that I am the Commander in Chief, and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamisese-mara/i-thought-they-know-that-i-was-the-commander-in-chief-not-that-i-know/) [Kamisese Mara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamisese-mara/) > [You can't flip-flop and be commander-in-chief.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/newt-gingrich/you-can-t-flip-flop-and-be-commander-in-chief/) [Newt Gingrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/newt-gingrich/) > [I'm the President and the Commander-in-Chief. Do it my way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/i-m-the-president-and-the-commander-in-chief-do-it-my-way/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [ISIS and Iran have declared war on America, and we need a commander in chief who will do everything necessary to keep our children…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-cruz/isis-and-iran-have-declared-war-on-america-and-we-need-a-commander-in/) [Ted Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-cruz/) > [To wage war, we need a commander in chief who has made tough calls in tough times and stood up to be held accountable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carly-fiorina/to-wage-war-we-need-a-commander-in-chief-who-has-made-tough-calls-in/) [Carly Fiorina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carly-fiorina/) > [America needs a Commander in Chief, not a Global Community Organizer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-cheney/america-needs-a-commander-in-chief-not-a-global-community-organizer/) [Liz Cheney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-cheney/) > [My first job as commander in chief is to keep the American people safe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/my-first-job-as-commander-in-chief-is-to-keep-the-american-people-safe/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Through my time in the military and my deployments, I have recognized the importance of having a Commander in Chief who will not only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tulsi-gabbard/through-my-time-in-the-military-and-my-deployments-i-have-recognized/) [Tulsi Gabbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tulsi-gabbard/) ## More by Sarah Palin > [They're our next-door neighbors, and you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska, from an island in Alaska.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-palin/they-re-our-next-door-neighbors-and-you-can-actually-see-russia-from/) [Sarah Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-palin/) > [RIGHTEOUS INDIGNATION is a manual and a call to action for awakened patriots who are too intelligent to believe the leftist media lies and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-palin/righteous-indignation-is-a-manual-and-a-call-to-action-for-awakened/) [Sarah Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-palin/) > [I'm very, very pleased to be cleared of any legal wrongdoing, any hint of any kind of unethical activity there. Very pleased to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-palin/i-m-very-very-pleased-to-be-cleared-of-any-legal-wrongdoing-any-hint/) [Sarah Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-palin/) > [A changing environment will affect Alaska more than any other state, because of our location. I'm not one though who would attribute it to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-palin/a-changing-environment-will-affect-alaska-more-than-any-other-state/) [Sarah Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-palin/) > [Children with special needs inspire a special love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-palin/children-with-special-needs-inspire-a-special-love/) [Sarah Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-palin/) > [Gov. Romney has claimed to have created 100,000 jobs at Bain and people are wanting to know, is there proof of that claim? And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-palin/gov-romney-has-claimed-to-have-created-100-000-jobs-at-bain-and/) [Sarah Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-palin/) > [“...Not yet dry behind the ears, not old enough to buy a beer, but old enough to die for his country. He can recite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-palin/not-yet-dry-behind-the-ears-not-old-enough-to-buy-a-beer-but-old/) [Sarah Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-palin/) > [To reduce deficit spending and our enormous debt, you reign in spending. You cut the budget. You don't take more from the private sector…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-palin/to-reduce-deficit-spending-and-our-enormous-debt-you-reign-in/) [Sarah Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-palin/) > [This is Reagan country. Yeah! And perhaps it was destiny that the man who went to California's Eureka College would become so woven within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-palin/this-is-reagan-country-yeah-and-perhaps-it-was-destiny-that-the-man/) [Sarah Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-palin/) > [I believe that there is a God's plan for this world, and that plan for this world is for good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-palin/i-believe-that-there-is-a-god-s-plan-for-this-world-and-that-plan-for/) [Sarah Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-palin/) > [Abraham Lincoln suggested never presume to know what God's will is, and I would never presume to know God's will or to speak God's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-palin/abraham-lincoln-suggested-never-presume-to-know-what-god-s-will-is/) [Sarah Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-palin/) > [Take a stand, America! You deserve better. Resolve to live life vibrantly by looking to family, faith, and freedom in this new year!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-palin/take-a-stand-america-you-deserve-better-resolve-to-live-life/) [Sarah Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-palin/) > [The America I know and love is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down syndrome will have to stand in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-palin/the-america-i-know-and-love-is-not-one-in-which-my-parents-or-my-baby/) [Sarah Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-palin/) > [Let me go back to a comfortable analogy for me - sports... basketball. I use it because you're naive if you don't see the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-palin/let-me-go-back-to-a-comfortable-analogy-for-me-sports-basketball-i/) [Sarah Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-palin/) > [I want to make a toast to all at this press event who agree with Thomas Jefferson, who said that our liberty depends on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-palin/i-want-to-make-a-toast-to-all-at-this-press-event-who-agree-with/) [Sarah Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-palin/) [Explore all 241 Sarah Palin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-palin/) ## More Chief quotes > [It's not reasonable for companies that have chief executives and board members who are paid very considerable sums to subsidise low pay through in-work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-johnson/it-s-not-reasonable-for-companies-that-have-chief-executives-and/) [Boris Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-johnson/) > [Most of my writer friends are women, and they're all extremely talented, so of course I think the state of contemporary fiction for women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jami-attenberg/most-of-my-writer-friends-are-women-and-they-re-all-extremely/) [Jami Attenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jami-attenberg/) > [No commander in chief would ever say, 'I'm not going to listen to the guys on the ground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-mccaskill/no-commander-in-chief-would-ever-say-i-m-not-going-to-listen-to-the/) [Claire McCaskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-mccaskill/) > [An Egyptian newspaper once publicly identified me as the C.I.A. station chief in Cairo. It seemed so stupid at the time. I was only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-engel/an-egyptian-newspaper-once-publicly-identified-me-as-the-c-i-a/) [Richard Engel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-engel/) > [The U.N. guards the vital principles entrenched in its charter, notably the sovereign equality of states and the inadmissibility of interference in their internal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shashi-tharoor/the-u-n-guards-the-vital-principles-entrenched-in-its-charter-notably/) [Shashi Tharoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shashi-tharoor/) > [Running a government as chief minister and managing affairs of the nation are different things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharad-pawar/running-a-government-as-chief-minister-and-managing-affairs-of-the/) [Sharad Pawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharad-pawar/) > [I haven't heard from Bobby since May when we had our conversation, but then this thing broke last week, where they arrested him, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-bond/i-haven-t-heard-from-bobby-since-may-when-we-had-our-conversation-but/) [Tommy Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-bond/) > [I'm the chief science officer of a foundation that works on the application of regenerative medicine to the problem of aging.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aubrey-de-grey/i-m-the-chief-science-officer-of-a-foundation-that-works-on-the/) [Aubrey de Grey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aubrey-de-grey/) > [Hail to the Chief who in triumph advances!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-scott/hail-to-the-chief-who-in-triumph-advances/) [Walter Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-scott/) > [I grew up with Chief Keef and Lil Reese. We all lived in the same environment, I went to school with them and everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cupcakke/i-grew-up-with-chief-keef-and-lil-reese-we-all-lived-in-the-same/) [Cupcakke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cupcakke/) > [Bill Clinton is not my commander-in-chief.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-north/bill-clinton-is-not-my-commander-in-chief/) [Oliver North](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-north/) > [Jayalalitha has turned out to be a failure as chief minister.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/subramanian-swamy/jayalalitha-has-turned-out-to-be-a-failure-as-chief-minister/) [Subramanian Swamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/subramanian-swamy/) > [I've been working with them for a couple years and a couple of projects. Essentially Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is the chief litigator for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dean-anderson/i-ve-been-working-with-them-for-a-couple-years-and-a-couple-of/) [Richard Dean Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dean-anderson/) > [Definitely, a non-tribal can become chief minister in Jharkhand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kariya-munda/definitely-a-non-tribal-can-become-chief-minister-in-jharkhand/) [Kariya Munda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kariya-munda/) > [One of the chief characteristics of a mob is its quickness. It is sudden. It pounces.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teju-cole/one-of-the-chief-characteristics-of-a-mob-is-its-quickness-it-is/) [Teju Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teju-cole/) [Browse all 249 Chief quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chief/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We need a commander in chief not a professor of law standing at a lectern - the lectern.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sarah Palin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-palin/we-need-a-commander-in-chief-not-a-professor-of-law-standing-at-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Chief" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-palin/we-need-a-commander-in-chief-not-a-professor-of-law-standing-at-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34d/sarah-palin-1441_chief_we-need-a-commander-in-chief-not-a-profe_1604071.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34d/sarah-palin-1441_chief_we-need-a-commander-in-chief-not-a-profe_1604071.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34d/sarah-palin-1441_chief_we-need-a-commander-in-chief-not-a-profe_1604071.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We need a commander in chief not a professor of law standing at a lectern - the lectern.” — Sarah Palin", "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": "Sarah Palin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-palin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We need a commander in chief...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-palin/we-need-a-commander-in-chief-not-a-professor-of-law-standing-at-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-palin/we-need-a-commander-in-chief-not-a-professor-of-law-standing-at-a/#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 } } ] } ```