Tough Questions Quotes & Sayings

Journalists are accused of being lapdogs when they don't ask the hard questions, but then accused of being rude when they do. Good thing we have tough hides. — Gwen Ifill

My identity was a big issue when I was a teenager, and I had a lot of questions, like: 'Who am I?' 'Who do I belong to?' But when I was still quite young, I decided that belonging is a tough process in life, and I'd better say I belonged to myself and the world rather than belonging to one nationality or another. — Hiam Abbass

Whenever you're reporting, there's always something you can't say or write, but the questions, you always want to get as close to that line as possible. You want to ask the tough questions. — Michael Hastings

Economists use the term "human capital" to refer to the skills and abilities and qualities and resources that each individual possesses. And in the late 1990s and early 2000s, human capital became an increasingly popular way to look at the problem of poverty. No one had all the answers yet, but they had, at least, a new set of questions: What specific resources did middle-class children have that allowed them to succeed at such higher rates than poor children? What skills did poor children need to help them compete? And most important, what kind of interventions in their lives or in their parents' lives could help them acquire those skills? — Paul Tough

I think the American people want to see the interactivity between candidates and audiences, and tough questions posed by people and how you handle them under fire. — Jack Kemp

God's comprehensive rule should ultimately stir faith, not frustration. I say ultimately because the biblical writers asked tough questions long before we did. They saw injustice and wondered about the purpose for the duration of evil. They were frustrated at times. They cried out to God, beat their chests, shed many tears, and endured much suffering. The sovereignty of God was not an abstract doctrine to faithful followers - it kept them hopeful, it helped them persevere, and it can do the same for Christians now. — Mitchell L. Chase

When you walk into a doctor's office, you've got to have the same attitude you would about anything else. You've got to ask tough questions, and you've got to not be afraid to challenge their credentials. — Tom Brokaw

It really is disgusting when a guy in a ball cap with a high school education is the one asking the tough questions. — Michael Moore

To me, Jeb Bush is hitting his stride. He was the most composed, the most endpoint, the most in control, I've seen him in an interview yet. And it's not because I wasn't asking him tough questions — Jeb Bush

Good design begins with honesty, asks tough questions, comes from collaboration and from trusting your intuition. — Freeman Thomas

The writer whose words are going to be read by children has a heavy responsibility. And yet, despite the undeniable fact that the children's minds are tender, they are also far more tough than many people realize, and they have an openness and an ability to grapple with difficult concepts which many adults have lost. Writers of children's literature are set apart by their willingness to confront difficult questions. — Madeleine L'Engle

How do our experiences in childhood make us the adults we become? It is one of the great human questions, the theme of countless novels, biographies, and memoirs; — Paul Tough

If we were created in God's image, then when God was a child he smushed fire ants with his fingertips and avoided tough questions. — Buddy Wakefield

Empowered Women 101: If he can't tell other women that he is happily married and acts in a way that suggests he isn't fully committed then he isn't happy. He is keeping his foot in the door for a better opportunity should it not work out with you. Real women don't need to investigate. They invest in their self confidence and worth by not allowing their man to disrespect them. They are not afraid to ask themselves the tough questions: Why am I letting this man humiliate me and value me less than others? Why have I allowed myself to become a doormat? — Shannon L. Alder

I'm in the business, as a journalist, of asking tough questions. — David Gregory

I listen to all these complaints about rudeness and intemperateness, and the opinion that I come to is that there is no polite way of asking somebody: have you considered the possibility that your entire life has been devoted to a delusion? But that's a good question to ask. Of course we should ask that question and of course it's going to offend people. Tough. — Daniel Dennett

People who exist at the margins of society are very much like Alice in Wonderland. They are not required to make the tough decision to risk their lives by embarking on an adventure of self-discovery. They have already been thrust beyond the city's walls that keep ordinary people at a safe distance from the unknown. For at least some outsiders, "alienation" has destroyed traditional presumptions of identity and opened up the mythic hero's path to the possibility of discovery. What outsiders discover in their adventures on the other side of the looking glass is the courage to repudiate self-contempt and recognise their "alienation" as a precious gift of freedom from arbitrary norms that they did not make and did not sanction. At the moment a person questions the validity of the rules, the victim is no longer a victim. — Jamake Highwater

Susan was frustrated and angry with her disease, which she survived for more than nine years. And my father became the receptacle for her vitriol. 'She screams and carries on when the going gets tough,' he wrote, 'knowing that I understand and will never reproach her, never abandon her, whatever!' He even encouraged her to use him in this manner, suspecting that once she was drained, she became more rational, placid, and cooperative regarding treatment decisions. My dad suspected that his medical expertise had prolonged her life but was even surer that he had helped her mental suffering by letting her know that he 'was always available, even for the most trivial of problems or questions. — Barron H. Lerner

So the tough questions that have been asked of Sarah Palin thus far just have been about the fact that she doesn't know anything and isn't ready to be vice president. That's fair game and it has nothing to do with her gender. — Debbie Wasserman Schultz

I just kept thinking about what my mom [Hillary Clinton] has said repeatedly when people have asked her similar questions, she's tough and she can take whatever people say about her. — Chelsea Clinton

When I'm looking for hot button answers to tough questions, I don't look to congressman or my mayor. I say, 'What would Miss U.S.A. have to say about this?' — Dane Cook

Hughes' debut novel, At Dawn, follows a former All-American wrestler, and is there any better metaphor for contemporary American life? We're all wrestling, tussling with the economy, no jobs, doing the best we can. Hughes doesn't flinch from the tough existential questions. He embraces them. — Joshua Mohr

He told me I balance his life. This is worrisome. What I don't tell him is that he's like four people in one and I'm in no position to balance that type of chaos. What I don't tell him is that he cuts me deeply by punishing me with his lack of visits for asking him the tough questions as a real friend might. Or how I've never been so angry in all my life when I'd realise that's what he'd done. What I don't say is, "How dare you!" And what he doesn't say, I notice, is that he's sorry. — Logan Keys

As a presidential candidate, Mr. Trump is going to get tough questions from the press and has to answer them. — Randy Falco

Political journalists love graduate student intelligence, the ability to make clever allusions in seminars, and in 1999-2000 they hassled George W. Bush for not having it. They didn't realize what this book succinctly displays: that the President has something far more important-CEO intelligence, the ability to ask tough questions, garner essential information, and make discerning decisions. — Marvin Olasky

As Secretary of State, we need someone with sound judgment, ask tough questions, and should not be willing to just read talking points. — John Barrasso

I don't think we've asked the right questions, the tough questions, at the right time, in Washington. — Jorge Ramos

There was a time in South Africa that people would put flaming tires around peoples' necks if they dis-sented. And in some ways the fear is that you will be necklaced here, you will have a flaming tire of lack of patriotism put around your neck. Now it is that fear that keeps journalists from asking the toughest of the tough questions ... And again, I am humbled to say, I do not except myself from this criticism. — Dan Rather

Who is in your life asking you the tough questions? — Jeff Henderson

When people hear that I'm a neuroscientist, they ask me tough questions. 'Will grandpa learn to walk again after his stroke?' 'How can my son overcome his dyslexia?' 'What could have caused my best friend to become schizophrenic?' When I can't give satisfying answers, they look disappointed - and I feel embarrassed. — Sebastian Seung

As the economy faces such difficulties, more tough questions need to be asked about what the Tories would do if elected. Their ideology of free markets and small government needs challenging. That has to be part of our job. — Lucy Powell

I told them we're tired of the culture wars, tired of Christianity getting entangled with party politics and power. Millennials want to be known by what we're for, I said, not just what we're against. We don't want to choose between science and religion or between our intellectual integrity and our faith. Instead, we long for our churches to be safe places to doubt, to ask questions, and to tell the truth, even when it's uncomfortable. We want to talk about the tough stuff - biblical interpretation, religious pluralism, sexuality, racial reconciliation, and social justice - but without predetermined conclusions or simplistic answers. We want to bring our whole selves through the church doors, without leaving our hearts and minds behind, without wearing a mask. — Rachel Held Evans

Be an advocate for your loved ones in the hospital. Ask tough questions of your local hospital and health system about preparedness for the likeliest emergencies, and express your views on how medical resources should be allocated in case they ever fall short. — Sheri Fink

I don't need to be liked, but I need to be vital - on set or on stage - and I think that probably would be my advice: Stay vital. It's about saying 'no' and asking the tough questions and believing in yourself when no one else will, but you have to know the rules to break them. — Logan Marshall-Green

The press really is not doing its job of holding the candidates' feet to the fire. The tough questions are not what are you in favor of, but how are you going to get it through Congress? — Michael Bloomberg

My activism is a result of my love. So whether it's trying to preserve the wilderness in Southern Utah or writing about an erotics of place, it is that same impulse - to try to make sense of the world, to try to preserve something that is beautiful, to ask the tough questions, the push the boundaries of what is acceptable. — Terry Tempest Williams

Also, you may want to consider having each potential fresh meat fill out a questionnaire to consider their commitment prior to accepting them into your training program. Sample questions may include: 1. Have you ever participated in a team sport? 2. Why do you want to train in roller derby? 3. Do you have aspirations to join a team? 4. Can you attend x% of the following practice schedule (list dates/locations/times)? 5. Will you be committed to personal and athletic growth within your training? 6. Will you be committed to pushing yourself when training gets tough? 7. Can you be comfortable with failing your way to success? — Punchy O'Guts

That first week, I also went to Washington. That was really tough. I sympathize with those Washington figures who have to face 40 Times Washington bureau reporters. They ask hard questions and they're relentless. And they were quite suspicious and quite dubious about me. — Daniel Okrent

Sometimes, it just gets mentally tough, but at the end of the day, I'm playing golf for a living. And reaching out to a huge fan base and knowing people are following my progress and looking up to me means the world to me. So if all I have to do is some photo shoots and answer questions, that's nothing to me. That's part of my life. — Lexi Thompson

If you set as your goal to roll back the size of government, you have an obligation to answer the tough questions and show real courage, not just appeal to ideology. Treat the voters like adults. — Brian Baird

I believe that young people are looking for answers to the big questions just like everyone else, and that they respect intelligent comment to help guide them through tough times. — Bill Kurtis

what. Content strategy asks these questions of stakeholders and clients: Why are we doing this? What are we hoping to accomplish, change, or encourage? How will we measure the success of this initiative and the content in it? What measurements of success or metrics do we need to monitor to know if we are successful? How will we ensure the web remains a priority? What do we need to change in resources, staffing, and budgets to maintain the value of communication within and from the organization? What are we trying to communicate? What's the hierarchy of that messaging? This isn't Sophie's Choice, but when you start prioritizing features on a homepage and allocating budget to your list of features and content needs, get ready to make some tough calls. What content types best meet the needs of our target audience and their changing, multiple contexts? What content types best fit the skills of our — Margot Bloomstein

Who's got the most heartbreaking voice? I don't know. Tough question. — J. Robbins

Here's the teaching point, if you're teaching kids about intelligence and policy: Intelligence does not absolve policymakers of responsibility to ask tough questions, and it doesn't absolve them of having curiosity about the consequences of their actions. — George Tenet

If you believe that hard work pays off, then you work hard; if you think it's hard to get ahead even when you try, then why try at all? Similarly, when people do fail, this mind-set allows them to look outward. I once ran into an old acquaintance at a Middletown bar who told me that he had recently quit his job because he was sick of waking up early. I later saw him complaining on Facebook about the "Obama economy" and how it had affected his life. I don't doubt that the Obama economy has affected many, but this man is assuredly not among them. His status in life is directly attributable to the choices he's made, and his life will improve only through better decisions. But for him to make better choices, he needs to live in an environment that forces him to ask tough questions about himself. There is a cultural movement in the white working class to blame problems on society or the government, and that movement gains adherents by the day. — J.D. Vance

I'm not seeing tough questions asked on American television. I'm not seeing those correspondents that would question those in power. It's like a club. We are not asking the tough questions. — Jorge Ramos

Group Thinking" or lack of courage to ask the tough and strategic questions is the chief weakness on Boards today. — Pearl Zhu

Have a lot of respect for the responsibility that journalists have to ask tough questions, to hold the administration accountable and to be advocates for the citizens of the United States. — Josh Earnest

I think the more important task for a young person than developing a personal brand is figuring out what she's great at, what she loves to do, and how she can use that to leave an imprint in the world. Those are tough questions, but essential ones. Answer those - and the personal brand follows. — Daniel H. Pink

The most important characteristic that has allowed me to succeed is confidence. I have always been comfortable in my own skin, and even when I was just starting out in my career, had the strength and self-assurance to ask tough questions and push for answers. — Heather Bresch

When I was at the CIA I asked my civilian advisory board to tackle some tough questions. Among the toughest: In a political culture that every day demands more transparency and more public accountability from every aspect of national life, could American intelligence continue to survive and succeed? That jury is still out. — Michael Hayden

The tough thing is figuring out what questions to ask, but [ ... ] once you do that, the rest is really easy. — Elon Musk

It seems an easy choice - sacrifice the tree for a human life - until one learns that three trees must be destroyed for each patient treated. Suddenly we must confront some tough questions. How important are the medical needs of future generations? — Al Gore

I just try to stay positive and focused on the tennis, not let anything get to me, like crazy questions. But I'm tough, let me tell you, tough as nails. — Venus Williams

On every project, there are always areas that everyone wants to shy away from due to either the political environment or a desire for conflict avoidance. As an architect, you are responsible for asking the tough questions and raising the issues so that they can be dealt with. As you address issues, avoid making statements; instead, craft what you are seeking as a series of questions. This approach allows you to avoid presuming information to be factual and allows for a discussion to begin. Take time to qualify the questions with the context of why you are asking them. It can help defuse some of the political tensions — Anonymous

I am the nice adversary, the guy that's going to ask the tough questions and is not going to be happy with the quick answer. — Guillermo Del Toro