Some thoughts on skin (III)

Q: Even some locals have compared you to former Newfoundland premier Joseph Smallwood and his “my way or the highway” approach to governance. What’s your response to people who think that of you?

A: “It’s like water rolling right off my back. I can tell you right now these comments roll right off my back. Before I got into politics I had a really thin skin and I was reactive and I realized pretty quickly that the only way you can survive on this, is to have a thicker skin. So, when people make comments like that, I don’t pay any attention to them. I can’t be governed by fear, I can’t be governed by name-calling, I can’t be governed by personal attacks.”

- Danny Williams, in interview with Craig Jackson of The Telegram, July 14, 2006