Alastair Campbell Quotes

When you see how the President makes political or policy decisions, you see who he is. The essence of the Presidency is decision-making.

My job is a decision-making job, and as a result, I make a lot of decisions.

I have not had the cabinet here for 6 weeks. I can run the government better without them.

Ministers do not function well when they are unsure of their authority or of their standing with the Leader [ the Prime Minister]

The president is the only one we have to make decisions. We have no one else.

There was no one at the table [of a Cabinet meeting] who could be of help to me except the President, and when I needed to consult him I did not choose a Cabinet meeting to do so.

Presidents cannot seem to be hesitating in any area that concerns their propriety.

He [President George W. Bush] really doesn’t want a lot of advice from me.

There is something wrong with the way in which we make our decisions. The Government listen too much to the pollsters and the party managers. The trouble is that they are not even very good at politics, and they are entering too much into policy decisions. As a result, there is too much short-termism, too much reacting to events, and not enough shaping of events. We give the impression of being in office but not in power. Far too many important decisions are made for 36 hours' publicity.

For better or worse, a critical factor in high level policy making is the President as a human being. Crudely put, there’s no right or wrong way; there’s the President’s way.

I am polite and I usually always consult them [Congressional leaders]. I don't ask their permission. I just consult them.

The presidency is not a collegial body... He will surround himself with people who share his vision.

If you're in Congress, you vote and give speeches. But governors have to make decisions every day, and presidents have to make decisions every day.

[Adviser is] the ones who do the job very well are the ones who lay out the range of options, filter down the range of options that are available to the president, lay them out in an honest, brokerage way and then let the president make the choice among those options.

I hire people who can do their jobs and who will advise me of things they don't agree with. The worst thing you can do is get in a room with 14 people who say, "OK!" Then you really are making decisions about engineering and finance and other areas.

Hillary Clinton, all talk. Unfortunately when there is action it's always the wrong decision.

When you're president, you can't vote present. You have to make a decision. Sometimes it's a split second decision. You don't have time to think about it. You've got to actually decide.

There must be no majority decisions, but only responsible persons, and the word 'council' must be restored to its original meaning. Surely every man will have advisers by his side, but the decision will be made by one man.

An American leader would be derelict of duty if he did not seek to understand all his options in such unprecedented circumstances. Presidents Lincoln during the Civil War and Roosevelt in the lead-up to World War II sought legal advice about the outer bounds of their power - even if they did not always use it. Our leaders should ask legal questions first, before setting policy or making decisions in a fog of uncertainty.

The question is who ought to make that decision, the Congress or the commanders? And as you know, my position is clear. I'm a commander guy.

Tony Blair made decisions on what he thought was best for the people of Great Britain, and I made decisions on what I thought was best for Americans. And I really don't view our relationship as one of quid pro quo. I view our relationship as one of strong allies and friends working together for the common good.

My job as majority leader is be supportive of our troops, try to have input as decisions are made and to look at those decisions after they're made ... not to march in lock step with everything the president decides to do.

I would prefer to let the president make the decisions that the president needs to make.

I think what you're going to get from President-elect [ Donald] Trump is all of his folks together - Rex Tillerson, James Mattis, John Kelly, CIA, Homeland Security, everyone that you would want in the room, making decisions about that particular document and treaties like that document as to how we're going move forward.

I respect the fact that Donald Trump always listens. It's how he was in business. It's how he is as president.