Place a child in a room, with a bible, an apple and a Rs 5 note. If he takes the bible, he will become a priest. If he takes the Rs 5 note, he will become a business man. But if he takes the apple in one hand and eats it, the 5 Rs note in the other and sits on the bible, he will become a politician.
When Silvio Berlusconi became Prime Minister of Italy in 2001, he continued to run his media empire. "There are no blind trusts, no meaningful guidelines on conflict of interest," Jane Kramer, an American journalist, explained. "No culture of divestment, no legal reason for a Prime Minister even to consider divestment..."
Berlusconi had an answer for such critics. "I wanted to do it," he once declared, "but my children won't let me."
Controversial documentary filmmaker Michael Moore was often advised to run for president. On one such occasion, Moore opened his arms, exposed his famous Big Mac belly, and replied: "You don't want this rolling around in the White House!"
Harry Truman was once asked by a young student how he might get started in politics. "You've already started," Truman replied. "You're spending somebody else's money, aren't you?
Karl Rove, George Bush's chief political strategist, once told an audience that, when he was nine years old, he put a Richard Nixon sticker on his bicycle - and was promptly beaten up by a little girl who supported John F. Kennedy.
The Woman's Touch
In 1980, Sherry Lansing became the first woman in history to run a major studio (20th Century Fox). Later, as Chairwoman of Paramount Pictures, Lansing encouraged employees to volunteer at Edwards Air Force Base. Their mission? To assist the Pentagon - by gardening and painting "nose art" on military aircraft.
The six most important words: I admit that I was wrong. The five most important words: You did a great job. The four most important words: What do you think? The three most important words: Could you please. . . The two most important words: Thank you. The most important word: We. The least important word: I.
Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion was once upbraided by President Chaim Weizmann for appearing at a formal dinner in typical Israeli fashion, with an unbuttoned collar and no jacket or tie.
"How can you show up dressed like this at a state dinner?" Weizmann asked. "Think of all the foreign guests who are here."
"But Winston Churchill," Ben-Gurion claimed, "gave me his permission."
"What do you mean Winston Churchill gave you permission?" Weizmann replied. "He's not even here!"
"Well," Ben-Gurion explained with a smile, "when I last visited London, Churchill said to me, 'Mr. Prime Minister, in Israel you may dress that way, but not in London'!"
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