Skip to content
quotesby

I can tell you that I may be a lot of things but I am not dumb. And I wrote about going to Bosnia in my book in 2004, I laid it all out there. And you're right, on a couple of occasions in the last weeks I just said some things that weren't in keeping with what I knew to be the case and what I had written about in my book. And you know, I'm embarrassed by it. I'm very sorry I said it. I have said that, you know, it just didn't jive with what I had written about and knew to be the truth. So I know that it is something that some people have said, 'Wait a minute. What happened here?' But I have talked about this and written about it and then, unfortunately, in a few occasions I was not as accurate as I have been in the past.

Hillary Clinton#52

PoliticsAccountabilityTruthApologyConsistency

About this quote

What does it mean?
Clinton admits to making mistakes in recent statements that contradicted her past writings and knowledge, expressing embarrassment and apology.
In plain terms
She apologized for saying things that were not true according to what she knew and wrote before.
What can you take from it?
Acknowledge errors when you contradict known facts.

Where it applies

  • public statements
  • writing comparisons
  • media interviews

Putting it to work

  • issue clarification
  • public apology
  • fact-checking

Questions to consider

  • How do you recover trust after contradicting yourself?
  • When is silence better than explanation?

Another view

Admitting error may not fully restore trust lost through prior inconsistencies.

More from Hillary Clinton

  1. You know, I have written about this and described it in many different settings, and I did misspeak the other day. This has been a very long campaign.

    Permalink to quote #51
  2. Rich people, God bless us. We deserve all the opportunities to make sure our country and our blessings continue to the next generation.

    Permalink to quote #53
  3. I was sleep-deprived, and I misspoke.

    Permalink to quote #50

Related quotes

  1. RS: You've called Bush a loser. Reid: And a liar. RS: You've apologized for the loser comment. Reid: But never for the liar, have I?

    Harry ReidHarry Reid quote #3
  2. The politician is : trained in the art of inexactitude. His words tend to be blunt or rounded, because if they have a cutting edge they may later return to wou…

    Edward R. MurrowEdward R. Murrow quote #8
  3. This is a book about a lie and the liars who told it to the American people. It is also about citizenship and the responsibility of all Americans to hold thems…

    Scott RitterScott Ritter quote #8