Joseph A. Califano Jr. Quotes

I never think the ends justify the means.

We live in a world where everyone thinks they do the right thing, so they are entitled to do the wrong thing. So ends can justify the means.

The ends do not always justify the means

The devil is compromise.

To do a great right do a little wrong.

Sometimes the right thing gets done for the wrong reason and sometimes, unfortunately, the wrong thing gets done for the right reason.

You can’t set aside … values in the name of political expediency.

President Nixon's motto was, if two wrongs don't make a right, try three.

I'm not saying you did the wrong thing. I'm not even saying it wasn't something I'd thought of doing, myself. But even if it was the just thing to do, or the fitting thing, it still wasn't the right thing.

It doesn't make sense to have to do the wrong thing in order to do the right thing.

Two wrongs don't make a right, but they make a good excuse.

Let none of us delude himself by supposing that honesty is always the best policy. It is not.

It's okay to lie as long as you reach a higher truth doing it.

Do not be too moral. You may cheat yourself out of much life so.

White lies always introduce others of a darker complexion.

Arguments of convenience lack integrity and inevitably trip you up.

Because cheating is easier when we can justify our behavior, people often cheat in small amounts: We can come up with an excuse for stealing Post-It notes, but it is much more difficult to come up with an excuse for taking $10,000 from petty cash.

If the end does not justify the means - what can?

I have a hard time with morals. All I know is what feels right, what's more important to me is being honest about who you are. Morals I get a little hung up on.

We may draw good out of evil; we must not do evil, that good may come.

I don't know if winning at any cost is wrong or not. There are times I've thought that the end justified the means.

Perhaps it is better to be irresponsible and right than to be responsible and wrong.

If the end does not justify the means, what does?

… he must deceive, misrepresent, leave false impressions … and trust to charm, loyalty and the result to make up for it…. A great man cannot be a good man.

Although I was aware they were illegal. We had become somewhat inured to using some activities that would help us in accomplishing what we thought was a legitimate cause