--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A president, like a college freshman…" description: "\"A president, like a college freshman, can't know in advance which questions he'll have to answer or what topics he'll have to master. He has to be flex..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5a/walter-kirn-2189_advance_a-president-like-a-college-freshman-can_2439040.png" --- # A president, like a college freshman, can't know in… ![“A president, like a college freshman, can't know in advance which questions he'll have to answer or what topics he'll have to master. He has to be flexible, supple, and responsive. He has to be comfortable with multiple-choice.” quote by Walter Kirn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5a/walter-kirn-2189_advance_a-president-like-a-college-freshman-can_2439040.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5a/walter-kirn-2189_advance_a-president-like-a-college-freshman-can_2439040.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5a/walter-kirn-2189_advance_a-president-like-a-college-freshman-can_2439040.png) > “A president, like a college freshman, can't know in advance which questions he'll have to answer or what topics he'll have to master. He has to be flexible, supple, and responsive. He has to be comfortable with multiple-choice.” [Walter Kirn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kirn/) ## 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 must stay adaptable, ready for unknown challenges and varied topics. **In simple terms:** Leaders need flexibility and readiness for unexpected questions. Key Takeaway Embrace adaptability in leadership. Themes leadership adaptability learning decisionmaking Mood thoughtful pragmatic Type advice reflective When to use this quote - political office - new job - crisis management - academic administration Key Concepts flexibility responsiveness multiplechoice uncertainty Questions to Reflect On - How do you prepare for unforeseen challenges? - What habits foster responsiveness? A Different Perspective Flexibility alone may not solve deep systemic issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Advance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/advance/) [Answer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/answer/) [College](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/college/) [College Freshman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/college-freshman/) [Comfortable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comfortable/) [Flexible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flexible/) [Freshman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freshman/) [Freshman Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freshman-know-470919/) [He](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/he/) [Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know/) [Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like/) [Master](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/master/) [Multiple choice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/multiple-choice/) [President](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/president/) [President Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/president-like-470918/) [Questions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/questions/) [Responsive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responsive/) [Supple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/supple/) [Topics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/topics/) [Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trump/) [Which](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/which/) ## Related quotes > [Now that I'm a XXL Freshman, you know, I feel like that sets high standards for me, and I feel like I have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dababy/now-that-i-m-a-xxl-freshman-you-know-i-feel-like-that-sets-high/) [DaBaby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dababy/) > [As an overly confident college freshman, the first time I received a below-average score on an exam was a needed wake-up call.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-coontz/as-an-overly-confident-college-freshman-the-first-time-i-received-a/) [Stephanie Coontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-coontz/) > [In 1984, as a college freshman, I spent a fall weekend at a friend's house in suburban Chicago. His father worked for Beatrice Foods,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-rushin/in-1984-as-a-college-freshman-i-spent-a-fall-weekend-at-a-friend-s/) [Steve Rushin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-rushin/) > [In college from my freshman year to my sophomore year, I always got better, and that's just my mindset.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-siakam/in-college-from-my-freshman-year-to-my-sophomore-year-i-always-got/) [Pascal Siakam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-siakam/) > [I've always felt like the most improvement you can make is from year 1 to year 2, much like a college freshman who the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-harbaugh/i-ve-always-felt-like-the-most-improvement-you-can-make-is-from-year/) [Jim Harbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-harbaugh/) > [“Heard my girl Avery stomped you so hard in a game of pool that Grayson had to take pity on you before every college…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-oram/heard-my-girl-avery-stomped-you-so-hard-in-a-game-of-pool-that/) [Kelly Oram](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-oram/) > [If you believe you have a just cause, an important message, or a key contribution to make, you will be just as innovative as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-beth-jones/if-you-believe-you-have-a-just-cause-an-important-message-or-a-key/) [Laurie Beth Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-beth-jones/) > [“The drugs were mind-dulling and unacceptable. Like an indecisive college freshman, I audited, without participating in, a few group therapy sessions. They felt like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-equels/the-drugs-were-mind-dulling-and-unacceptable-like-an-indecisive/) [Tom Equels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-equels/) > [Sure, he had a wife and fifty-four kids, but he looked like a college freshman. A yummy college freshman majoring in Oh-my-god-I-gotta-get-me-some-of-that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-harrison/sure-he-had-a-wife-and-fifty-four-kids-but-he-looked-like-a-college/) [Kim Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-harrison/) > [As a college freshman with an on-campus job, I was delivering paperwork to the engineering department one day. There, I encountered two department assistants…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-johnson/as-a-college-freshman-with-an-on-campus-job-i-was-delivering/) [Peggy Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-johnson/) > [My dad painted cars for a living, and my mom graduated from college when I was a college freshman myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-sweet/my-dad-painted-cars-for-a-living-and-my-mom-graduated-from-college/) [Julie Sweet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-sweet/) > [I'm going to be a vice president very much like George Bush was. He proved to be a very effective vice president, perhaps the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-quayle/i-m-going-to-be-a-vice-president-very-much-like-george-bush-was-he/) [Dan Quayle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-quayle/) > [This meeting was like many of the meetings that I would go to over the course of two years. The only way I can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-o-neill/this-meeting-was-like-many-of-the-meetings-that-i-would-go-to-over/) [Paul O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-o-neill/) > [Being president is like being a jackass in a hailstorm. There's nothing to do but to stand there and take it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/being-president-is-like-being-a-jackass-in-a-hailstorm-there-s/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [“I pocketed two boxes of M&M’s with the presidential seal. You open it up and you really are expecting the best M&M’s you’ve ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-smith/i-pocketed-two-boxes-of-m-m-s-with-the-presidential-seal-you-open-it/) [Chris Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-smith/) ## More by Walter Kirn > [Everyone loves a witch hunt as long as it's someone else's witch being hunted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kirn/everyone-loves-a-witch-hunt-as-long-as-it-s-someone-else-s-witch/) [Walter Kirn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kirn/) > [“I just wasn't ready for his stories. 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That's a savage person who looks at everything as a story and, you know,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kirn/there-are-two-sides-to-me-one-is-the-writer-that-s-a-savage-person/) [Walter Kirn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kirn/) > [I remember the first time I went to Italy when I was eighteen, I was in Florence and there were all these eighteen, nineteen,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kirn/i-remember-the-first-time-i-went-to-italy-when-i-was-eighteen-i-was/) [Walter Kirn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kirn/) > [Quiet cunning bested boastful brawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kirn/quiet-cunning-bested-boastful-brawn/) [Walter Kirn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kirn/) > [The idea that Americans favor politicians who either remind them of themselves or can imagine what their selves are like because they too have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kirn/the-idea-that-americans-favor-politicians-who-either-remind-them-of/) [Walter Kirn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kirn/) > [“Our habit of wishing backward from what is to what might have been is the soft but persistent tapping that cracks the crystal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kirn/our-habit-of-wishing-backward-from-what-is-to-what-might-have-been-is/) [Walter Kirn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kirn/) > [Memo to extreme partisans: If you can't bring yourselves to love your enemies, can you at least learn to hate your friends?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kirn/memo-to-extreme-partisans-if-you-can-t-bring-yourselves-to-love-your/) [Walter Kirn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kirn/) > [People can be so neglectful of each other and of their own heritage - then death intrudes. 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One of the reasons I spend a lot of time on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-redfield-jamison/it-s-more-common-than-not-that-bipolar-illness-will-start-in-the/) [Kay Redfield Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-redfield-jamison/) > [The advance of science spares us from irrational dread.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-rees/the-advance-of-science-spares-us-from-irrational-dread/) [Martin Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-rees/) > [Some companies out there quote a start of production that is substantially in advance of when customers get their cars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elon-musk/some-companies-out-there-quote-a-start-of-production-that-is/) [Elon Musk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elon-musk/) > [My priority in life is my whanau, followed by my work as an artist, which has blessed me with the ability to provide opportunities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cliff-curtis/my-priority-in-life-is-my-whanau-followed-by-my-work-as-an-artist/) [Cliff Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cliff-curtis/) > [Others have said it before me. 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Sockman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-w-sockman-2/) > [In times of failing health, don't hopelessly pray for the intervention of a mythical god; wish hopefully for an advance in medical science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-fowler/in-times-of-failing-health-don-t-hopelessly-pray-for-the-intervention/) [Steve Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-fowler/) > [Clearly, unless thinking beings inevitably wipe themselves out soon after developing technology, extraterrestrial intelligence could often be millions or billions of years in advance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/clearly-unless-thinking-beings-inevitably-wipe-themselves-out-soon/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) [Browse all 263 Advance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/advance/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A president, like a college freshman, can't know in advance which questions he'll have to answer or what topics he'll have to master. 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