While the United States has often taken the wrong path, it has rarely failed to demonstrate - at least in the long run - the courage to reverse its steps.
Antony BlinkenRead
I don't think anyone in the 1990s, the late '90s, anticipated that the Putin they knew then would become the Putin we know now.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects on the unexpected evolution of a political figure over time.
Antony Blinken highlights how perceptions of Vladimir Putin changed significantly from the 1990s to the present. It suggests that the traits and decisions that define a leader can transform dramatically, leading to a disconnect between past and present assessments.
Themes
PutinPoliticsChangeHistoryLeadership
In practice
Example use cases
In a seminar discussing modern leadership in international relations, this quote could illustrate how leaders evolve over time.
More from Antony Blinken
All quotes βWhen it comes to climate change, I think that success at home is directly tied to our ability to lead effectively abroad.
Antony BlinkenRead
Some friends of Israel believe that the Palestinians will never, in their hearts, accept a Jewish state in Palestine. Yet Germans and French, Chinese and Japanese, Mexicans and Americans have overcome their once insurmountable differences. Palestinians and Jews also have much to gain from peaceful coexistence.
Antony BlinkenRead
By virtually every metric, the liberal international order has made the world healthier, wealthier, wiser, more secure and more tolerant than it has ever been.
Antony BlinkenRead
My father's father fled a pogrom in Russia in the early 20th century and was welcomed to the United States. So was my stepmother, who escaped as a young girl from Communist Hungary in 1950.
Antony BlinkenRead
Climate change, the spread of weapons of mass destruction. None of those can really effectively be dealt with by any one country acting alone and even the United States can't handle them alone. China needs to be part of the game on that.
Antony BlinkenRead
Similar quotes
All the political angst and moral melodrama about getting 'the rich' to pay 'their fair share' is part of a big charade. This is not about economics, it is about politics.
Thomas SowellRead
[V]irtue or morality is a necessary spring of popular government.
George WashingtonRead
Birtherism surely increased Americans' distrust of politics, though in ways that are hard to pin down. By contrast, when anti-vaxxers persuade parents not to vaccinate children, the result can be sickness and even death.
Anne ApplebaumRead
People tend to judge presidents on how the economy performs, and yet we don't expect them to have the power to do much about it. Or we don't want them to exercise that power, if they were to have it.
Barbara EhrenreichRead
Before Congress cuts funding for Head Start, Social Security, and financial aid for college, we have got to make sure that large, profitable corporations are paying their fair share of taxes.
Bernie SandersRead
All new states are invested, more or less, by a class of noisy, second-rate men who are always in favor of rash and extreme measures, but Texas was absolutely overrun by such men.
Sam HoustonRead