Ron Suskind, Confidence Men: Wall Street, Washington, And The Education Of A President Quotes

Confidence is the immaterial residue of material actions. Confidence is the public face of competence.

It is one thing to rouse the passion of a people, and quite another to lead them.

Civilizations rise and fall on confidence. America had figured out a way to borrow money to manufacture it.

Rapid change, accommodating it can be one of the great human capacities. But living through it can be the stuff of stress and often suffering.

These were lobbyists—many of them compensated quite handsomely not to react as human beings.

Younger colleagues tended to draw untested self-confidence from their bonuses and prestigious degrees.

The whole game was about confidence, as it always was. Everything was fine—until it wasn't.

The problems afflicting a nation are always in equal measure spiritual crises.

If the opposite of certainty is doubt, humility must lie somewhere between the two,

If the breadth of perspectives is wide enough to represent the fullest range of views, consensus is unlikely. If consensus is swiftly achieved, it probably means too few voices have been heard.