Officials can blur their lawbreaking by focusing public attention on popular ends

Evidence

Another lesson Moses learned was that, in the eyes of the public, the end, if not justifying the means, at least made them unimportant. Al Smith had succeeded in blurring in the public’s mind the legal technicalities of the fight—by focusing the public’s mind on the end of the fight: parks. — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker, 958

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Secrecy replaced open debate once open debate failed a reformer — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the…, 771; Scapegoating underlings lets officials escape consequences through staged public apologies — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement: How People Do Harm…, 439; Legal strategy paired surprise filings with deliberate control of public narrative — Tamara Lanier, From These Roots: My Fight with Harvard…, 856 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Scapegoating underlings lets officials escape consequences through staged public apologies #expands (0.85) — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 439
• Legal strategy paired surprise filings with deliberate control of public narrative #expands (0.80) — Tamara Lanier, From These Roots, 856