"I want minimum information given with maximum politeness"
About this Quote
The construction is telling. "I want" is blunt, almost managerial, but it’s immediately softened by the old-world civility of "maximum politeness". She’s negotiating terms, not pleading for privacy. It’s also a quiet rebuke to a culture that treats access as entitlement. If the public, press, and political operatives demand an endless drip of personal detail, she offers a different contract: you’ll get decorum, not confession.
Context makes the line sharper. As First Lady in the early TV era, she was both a symbol and a target: glamour became a national asset, and her private life became a national pastime. Add the Kennedy administration’s media choreography, and you get a woman who understood that visibility is a trap unless you ration it. The subtext is discipline: speak less, reveal less, give nothing that can be weaponized, and do it without inviting a fight.
It’s a philosophy of soft power. Silence, packaged as courtesy, becomes a way to keep dignity intact while everyone else reaches for spectacle.
Quote Details
| Topic | Respect |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Kennedy, Jackie. (2026, January 17). I want minimum information given with maximum politeness. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-want-minimum-information-given-with-maximum-31719/
Chicago Style
Kennedy, Jackie. "I want minimum information given with maximum politeness." FixQuotes. January 17, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-want-minimum-information-given-with-maximum-31719/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"I want minimum information given with maximum politeness." FixQuotes, 17 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-want-minimum-information-given-with-maximum-31719/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.















