The irony burned deep that to save the Union required suspension of constitutional law upon which the Union had been founded.

He had schooled his speechwriters Rosenman and Moley on how to communicate to the people at large in order to circumvent the legislators: Avoid dull facts; create memorable images; translate every issue into people’s lives; use simple, everyday language; never use big words when small words will do. Simplify the concept that “we are trying to const

“Sometimes that instinct is better than a long and careful investigation.”

In time, however, the steadfast affectation of good cheer begot real cheer.

All one can do is to prepare oneself, to wait in readiness for what might come.

Life had shown him that logic and step-by-step planning hardly controlled events.

He had to purge leaders at the top, change the culture in which the individual policemen worked, and deal a fatal blow to the widespread system of graft and bribery that enveloped the police, the politicians, and the managers of thousands of small businesses.

Parker failed to understand that for Roosevelt publicity was not merely the craving to bask in the focused glare of public attention; public sentiment was his single most potent instrument for driving change.

Hit the ground running; consolidate control; ask questions of everyone wherever you go; manage by wandering around; determine the basic problems of each organization and hit them head-on; when attacked, counterattack; stick to your guns; spend your political capital to reach your goals; and then when your work is stymied or done, find a way out.