Moses’ power rested on hiding behind popular causes so his ruthless methods stayed invisible.

Evidence

In part, because his success in public relations had been due primarily to his masterful utilization of a single public relations technique: identifying himself with a popular cause. This technique was especially advantageous to him because his philosophy—that accomplishment, Getting Things Done, is the only thing that matters, that the end justifies any means, however ruthless—might not be universally popular. By keeping the public eye focused on the cause, the end, the ultimate benefit to be obtained, the technique kept the public eye from focusing on the methods by which the benefit was to be obtained. The technique was also especially advantageous to him because its focus on the cause kept his personality safely blurred. — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker, 1851

Categorization

• DEEPTHINKING: This is the synthesis that links a decade of the book: personal-cause identification as a masking device for an ends-justifies-means philosophy and dangerous personality.
• XREF: Pays off ch15’s ‘Officials can blur their lawbreaking by focusing public attention on popular ends’ with the full mechanism now stated. — connects to: Moses turned parks, symbols of serenity, into weapons of power — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the…, 1139; Presse editors suppressed scandal coverage out of faith in the Moses myth. — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the…, 4043; Moses’ park-defender image survived only through press secrecy — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the…, 4061 (+1 more)
• recurring: this claim recurs 2 times within its source