I think somebody ought to do a survey as to how many great, important men have quit to spend time with their families who spent any more time with their family.

Meaning of the quote

This quote suggests that many successful and influential people may have left their important jobs to spend more time with their families, but it's unclear if they actually ended up spending more quality time with their loved ones. The main idea is that there could be a disconnect between the reasons people give for making big career changes and the reality of how they end up spending their time.

About Walter Cronkite

Walter Cronkite was an iconic American broadcast journalist who served as the anchor for the CBS Evening News for 19 years. He was often referred to as “the most trusted man in America” and covered major events throughout his long career, including World War II, the Vietnam War, and the U.S. space program. Cronkite received numerous honors and awards for his exceptional journalism.

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More quotes from Walter Cronkite

Everything is being compressed into tiny tablets. You take a little pill of news every day – 23 minutes – and that’s supposed to be enough.

Walter Cronkite

American broadcast journalist (1916-2009)

The perils of duck hunting are great – especially for the duck.

Walter Cronkite

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I think it is absolutely essential in a democracy to have competition in the media, a lot of competition, and we seem to be moving away from that.

Walter Cronkite

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I can’t imagine a person becoming a success who doesn’t give this game of life everything he’s got.

Walter Cronkite

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And that’s the way it is.

Walter Cronkite

American broadcast journalist (1916-2009)

Dan Rather and I just aren’t especially chummy.

Walter Cronkite

American broadcast journalist (1916-2009)

America’s health care system is neither healthy, caring, nor a system.

Walter Cronkite

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We are not educated well enough to perform the necessary act of intelligently selecting our leaders.

Walter Cronkite

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Objective journalism and an opinion column are about as similar as the Bible and Playboy magazine.

Walter Cronkite

American broadcast journalist (1916-2009)

In seeking truth you have to get both sides of a story.

Walter Cronkite

American broadcast journalist (1916-2009)

I’ve gone from the most trusted man in America to one of the most debated.

Walter Cronkite

American broadcast journalist (1916-2009)

There’s a little more ego involved in these jobs than people might realize.

Walter Cronkite

American broadcast journalist (1916-2009)

I want to say that probably 24 hours after I told CBS that I was stepping down at my 65th birthday, I was already regretting it. And I regretted it every day since.

Walter Cronkite

American broadcast journalist (1916-2009)

Our job is only to hold up the mirror – to tell and show the public what has happened.

Walter Cronkite

American broadcast journalist (1916-2009)

The great sadness of my life is that I never achieved the hour newscast, which would not have been twice as good as the half-hour newscast, but many times as good.

Walter Cronkite

American broadcast journalist (1916-2009)

When you’re bringing in a fairly unknown candidate challenging a sitting president, the population needs a lot more information than reduced coverage provides.

Walter Cronkite

American broadcast journalist (1916-2009)

There is no such thing as a little freedom. Either you are all free, or you are not free.

Walter Cronkite

American broadcast journalist (1916-2009)

I think somebody ought to do a survey as to how many great, important men have quit to spend time with their families who spent any more time with their family.

Walter Cronkite

American broadcast journalist (1916-2009)