Jon Huntsman Jr. Quotes
You can be stern and forthright, and that's my management style, but when you lose it totally, that's a sign of weakness.
Huntsman, Jon, Jr. Interview. Esquire, Hearst Communications, 2011.
For the first time a woman was running for the presidency and she had a large following. However, there were still many who saw women as too emotional to be in leadership positions. Sarkozy did not want to anger many egalitarian French voters by appearing to be a sexist and attack a woman’s generic ability to lead. However, he cleverly waited for a moment in the debate where his opponent was particularly passionate about something. He gently chided her about it and she took the bait and very passionately and excitedly said that she had a right and obligation to be passionate about issues that affected millions of French lives. But as she did so she grew ever more passionate and forceful. Then Sarkozy struck with this quotation. The impression that the audience was left with is that Royal was a good woman who was properly concerned with issues but was just not ready for such a high position and did not quite have the demeanor that was needed for the Presidency. Sorkozy won the election the following week.
Jon Meade Huntsman Jr. is an American businessman, diplomat and politician who served as the 16th Governor of Utah from 2005 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the Ambassador of the United States to Russia from 2017 to 2019, to China from 2009 to 2011, and to Singapore from 1992 to 1993.