Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Quotes

A President has to do the image stuff that will help him so that he can do the substantive things he wants to do.

Governing today means giving acceptable signs of credibility. It is like advertising and it is the same effect that is achieved—commitment to a scenario.

I’m not going to have any damn image experts coming telling me how to part my hair

You cannot send mixed signals---not only to the American people but to the rest of the world.

You need a story, a scenario as First Lady.

They put out statements to make themselves look good.

Sometimes heads of state have to make statements for [local] public consumption.

Whenever we get involved in a war, the White House seems to have 3 priorities: We cannot appear to be losing; we must appear to be winning; we must look like we know what we are doing.

It’s not only what you do in politics. It’s what you appear to do.

Parliamentarians certainly know how to do bad public relations.

I look forward to these confrontations with the press to kind of balance up the nice and pleasant things that come to me as president.

In politics you learn to always smile.

My job is being 'Mrs. Ronald Reagan.'

Sure, I've done movies in which I was embarrassed by my performance, or might not have cared for a co-star. Then I'd have to tell lies, like, 'Oh, we love each other; everything was perfect!'

Image has become everything.

Politics is the business of managing perceptions.

Today being President is really no different than running for President. It’s about approval ratings and photo ops and damage control and deniability.

This [the Bush administration] is a print administration, not a television administration.

Every administration is theater because this is the nature of public life in America.

It’s not what you are that counts; it’s what people think you are.

The character and repute of President Kennedy constitute one of our greatest national resources. Nothing should be done to jeopardize this invaluable asset. When lies must be told, they should be told by subordinate officials.

I was asked to write a press briefing emphasizing the positive steps the administration had taken in the area and minimizing the negative ones. I was an Assistant to the President. I have done that for several Presidents. When you’re on the staff of the President of the United States you try and make things look as good as possible.

Our presidents have been getting to be synthetic monsters, the work of a hundred ghost- writers and press agents so that it is getting harder and harder to discover the line between the man and the institution.

It takes very little fire to make a great deal of smoke nowadays, and notoriety is not real glory.

To be perfect for television is all a President has to be these days.