"Simple Jack, I constantly test my cabinet Secretaries. If they respond correctly, they stay on. Otherwise I fire them. It's a 'best of breed' process, I'm sure of keeping only the smartest ones".
Bush then calls Powell. "Colin, I'm going to ask you a question. You know the rules. If you're wrong, you're fired. OK? Here we go: It is your mother's child, but it's neither your brother or your sister. Who is it?"
Colin Powell thinks for a few seconds and then answers: "That's easy. It's me!"
"Perfect", Bush says, "you stay on".
Chirac is very impressed. As soon as he gets back to Paris he calls on Raffarin (that's the Prime Minister for you libs). "Raffarin, I'm going to ask you a question. If you answer correctly, you stay on as Prime Minister. If not, you're fired. Here it is: it is your mother's child, but it's neither your brother or your sister. Who is it?"
Raffarin, aware of his own shortcomings, requests a brief delay to think it over. Chirac gives him 24 hours. Raffarin rushes back to his palace, calls his cabinet ministers, and soon a group of senior civil service mandarins are studying the question. All of the possible outcomes are covered. After several hours of study, a guy more clever than the rest says: "We must ask Juppé! (Former Chirac's Prime Minister and currently President of the Conservative Majority for you liberal types) He's always right and he knows what the President has on his mind."
"Great idea!" Raffarin immediately places a call to Juppé. "Hello Alain? It's Raffarin. Chirac wants an answer to this question and since you know him so well you can find the answer. The question is: It is your mother's child, but it's neither your brother or your sister. Who is it?"
Right away, Juppé snickers slightly and with his well known superior attitude responds: "That's easy, it's me."
The next day Raffarin rushes to the Presidential Palace. "President Sir, President Sir, I know who it is!"
"OK, OK, Raffarin. So, your mother's child who is neither your brother or your sister, who is it?"
"It's Juppé, President Sir."
Chirac's eyes bulge wide open. "Pack your bags Raffarin. The correct answer is Colin Powell!!!!!"
Few things are harder to put up with than a good example.
~Mark Twain
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