Donald Rumsfeld
Donald Rumsfeld
Donald Henry Rumsfeldis an American politician and businessman. Rumsfeld served as the 13th Secretary of Defense from 1975 to 1977 under President Gerald Ford, and as the 21st Secretary of Defense from 2001 to 2006 under President George W. Bush. He is both the youngest and the second oldestperson to have served as Secretary of Defense. Additionally, Rumsfeld was a three-term U.S. Congressman from Illinois, Director of the Office of Economic Opportunity, Counsellor to the President, the United States Permanent...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionPolitician
Date of Birth9 July 1932
CityEvanston, IL
CountryUnited States of America
The president has not suggested that that is going to be needed,
I failed to recognize how important it was to elevate a matter of such gravity to the highest levels, including the president and the members of Congress,
It's not going to take years, and it's not going to take days. It'll take some months. And then we will go back to the president with our recommendations as to what we believe are the priorities and what needs to be done,
Most of the 50 or so invitations you receive each week come from people inviting the President's Chief of Staff, not you. If you doubt that, ask your predecessor how many he received last week.
I suppose the implication of that is the president and the vice president and myself and Colin Powell just fell off a turnip truck to take these jobs.
Leave the President's family business to him. You will have plenty to do without trying to manage the First Family. They are likely to do fine without your help.
In the execution of Presidential decisions work to be true to his views, in fact and tone.
When asked for your views, by the press or others, remember that what they really want to know is the President's views.
Be able to resign. It will improve your value to the President and do wonders for your performance.
The price of being close to the President is delivering bad news. You fail him if you don't tell him the truth. Others won't do it.
Presidential leadership needn't always cost money. Look for low- and no-cost options. They can be surprisingly effective.
Preserve the President's options. He may need them.
One of your tasks is to separate the 'personal' from the 'substantive.' The two can become confused, especially if someone rubs the President wrong.
Don't automatically obey Presidential directives if you disagree or if you suspect he hasn't considered key aspects of the issue.