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I do not believe that the President was in any way directly involved in the leaking of her identity, but that was a very disillusioning moment for me when I found out when it initially hit the press, and I was in North Carolina, if I remember correctly, and a reporter shouted out to the President, 'Is it true that you authorized the secret leaking of this classified information?' We walked onto Air Force One, and the Presidents asks, 'What was the reporter asking?', and I said, 'He asserted that you were the one who authorized Scooty Libby leaking this information,' and he said, 'Yeah, I did.'

George W. Bush#444

PoliticsTrustAuthorityDisillusionmentTransparency

About this quote

What does it mean?
The speaker recounts a moment where they learned the president authorized a classified leak.
In plain terms
They were disappointed to learn the president authorized a leak.
What can you take from it?
Disillusionment can occur when leaders contradict expectations.

Where it applies

  • government scandals
  • press interactions

Putting it to work

  • monitoring government actions
  • seeking accountability

Questions to consider

  • How do you handle disillusionment with leaders?
  • What happens when trust is broken?

Another view

This relies on memory of a past conversation.

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