Douglas Brinkley Quotes

Because one of the benefits of getting older, I guess-there are very few benefits, really - most of them are a pain in the butt. People depend on me more; they believe in me more, they think I'm good.

I want to be revered. I want to be an elder; I want to be an elderess.

In America few people will trust you unless you are irreverent.

My poor mum had a lot of problems with me around that time. I was young but I'd been working for years, so if she asked me to clean my room I'd say, 'You can't tell me what to do after I've worked a 12-hour day.' It gave me a power that no one that age should have.

If you lead a country like Britain, a strong country, a country which has taken a lead in world affairs in good times and in bad, a country that is always reliable, then you have to have a touch of iron about you.

You have to act like a responsible professional in the industry regardless of your age.

Let not our proposal be disregarded on the score of our youth.

As a kid, I did want to be an old-timer, since they were the ones with the big stories and the cool clothes. I wanted to go there. Now, I guess I want to bring that with me and go back in time.

I think people have come to know me, and I don't deviate too much as an individual. What you see is what you get.

You can be cool and at the same time respect your woman, who will hopefully become your wife, who will hopefully become the mother of your kids. America needs to get back to family values.

To be a friend means that they are always there, for the good or the bad.

I'm still the same. That's why the fans love me. Because they need stability in the industry.

My children didn't when they were little because I thought that they had to be of a certain age. I hoped they liked me well enough not to want to see me in that sort of a spot.

I strongly believe in the principle of accountability and responsibility. It is the foundation of leadership.

… a country's laws are written upon paper, and that its customs are engraved upon brass. One may play with the one, but not with the other. It is less risky for a stranger to dance upon our Constitution in the public square than to affront one of our solidified customs. The one is merely eminently respectable, the other is sacred.

At the heart of leadership is the leader's relationship with followers. People will entrust their hopes and dreams to another person only if they think the other is a reliable vessel.

Tradition wears a snowy beard.

If you draw [red] lines and then don't respect them, you diminish your credibility.

When Shaq gave me the nickname, it wasn't no Joe-Bob giving you a nickname. This is Shaq. It was like, whoa.

I'm old-fashioned that way. I don't believe you turn the president down.

Trust comes before strength, and it becomes a conduit of influence. Your strength is a little bit threatening before people trust you.

If you're an old cat around young girls, you got to have somethin' to bring to the table.

You want to be respected by your bosses and peers.

Trust is something I know has to be earned whether you're a husband, a father, or a congressman.

I used to run away from the cops and now I stand and chat with them about my art. I'm older now and it is harder to run away from them. It would be embarrassing for an older man to get arrested by someone half your age. So I gave up running.