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" See that the President, the Cabinet and staff are informed. If cut out of the information flow, their decisions may be poor, not made, or not confidently or persuasively implemented. "

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" Arguments of convenience lack integrity and inevitably trip you up. "

" Be yourself. Follow your instincts. Success depends, at least in part, on the ability to 'carry it off.' "

" I can't tell you if the use of force in Iraq today will last five days, five weeks or five months, but it won't last any longer than that. "

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" You will launch many projects, but have time to finish only a few. So think, plan, develop, launch and tap good people to be responsible. Give them authority and hold them accountable. Trying to do too much yourself creates a bottleneck. "

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" Make decisions about the President's personal security. He can overrule you, but don't ask him to be the one to counsel caution. "

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" Many people around the President have sizeable egos before entering government, some with good reason. Their new positions will do little to moderate their egos. "

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" Don't be a bottleneck. If a matter is not a decision for the President or you, delegate it. Force responsibility down and out. Find problem areas, add structure and delegate. The pressure is to do the reverse. Resist it. "

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" Enjoy your time in public service. It may well be one of the most interesting and challenging times of your life. "

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" Don't automatically obey Presidential directives if you disagree or if you suspect he hasn't considered key aspects of the issue. "

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" If a prospective Presidential approach can't be explained clearly enough to be understood well, it probably hasn't been thought through well enough. If not well understood by the American people, it probably won't 'sail' anyway. Send it back for further thought. "

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" Imagine, a September 11 with weapons of mass destruction. It's not 3,000. It's tens of thousands of innocent men, women and children. "

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" When you raise issues with the President, try to come away with both that decision and also a precedent. Pose issues so as to evoke broader policy guidance. This can help to answer a range of similar issues likely to arise later. "

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" With the press there is no 'off the record.' "

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" If in doubt, move decisions up to the President. "

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" Oh my goodness gracious, what you can buy off the Internet in terms of overhead photography. A trained ape can know an awful lot of what is going on in this world, just by punching on his mouse, for a relatively modest cost. "

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" There are a lot of people who lie and get away with it, and that's just a fact. "

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" Treat each federal dollar as if it was hard earned; it was - by a taxpayer. "

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" Plan backwards as well as forward. Set objectives and trace back to see how to achieve them. You may find that no path can get you there. Plan forward to see where your steps will take you, which may not be clear or intuitive. "

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" Politics is human beings; it's addition rather than subtraction. "

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" Be precise. A lack of precision is dangerous when the margin of error is small. "

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" Look for what's missing. Many advisors can tell a President how to improve what's proposed or what's gone amiss. Few are able to see what isn't there. "

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" Congress, the press, and the bureaucracy too often focus on how much money or effort is spent, rather than whether the money or effort actually achieves the announced goal. "

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" If you develop rules, never have more than ten. "

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" If it were a fact, it wouldn't be called intelligence. "

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" Simply because you do not have evidence that something exists does not mean that you have evidence that it doesn't exist. "

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" Don't do or say things you would not like to see on the front page of The Washington Post. "

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" Know that the amount of criticism you receive may correlate somewhat to the amount of publicity you receive. "

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" One of your tasks is to separate the 'personal' from the 'substantive.' The two can become confused, especially if someone rubs the President wrong. "

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" It is easier to get into something than to get out of it. "

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" Let your family, staff, and friends know that you're still the same person, despite all the publicity and notoriety that accompanies your position. "

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