Pottery Barn rule

The Pottery Barn rule is American political jargon alluding to a "you break it, you bought it" policy, by which a retail store holds a customer responsible for damage done to merchandise on display. It is used to signify accountability for the consequences of political decisions, particularly in the case of the 2003 invasion of Iraq and the ongoing occupation of that country.

Ironically, Pottery Barn—the well-known chain of home furnishing stores in the United States—in reality "does not" have a "you break it, you bought it" policycite web | author=Daniel Grant| year=2005 | title=You Break It, You Buy It? Not According to the Law | url=http://www.craftsreport.com/april05/break_not_buy.html| work= [http://www.craftsreport.com/ The Crafts Report Magazine] | accessdate=18 April | accessyear=2007] , but rather writes off broken merchandise as a loss, as do most large American retailers.cite web | author=Helen Huntley| year=2004 | title=Rule that isn't its rule upsets Pottery Barn | url=http://www.sptimes.com/2004/04/20/Business/Rule_that_isn_t_its_r.shtml| work= [http://www.sptimes.com/ St. Petersburg Times] | accessdate=18 April | accessyear=2007]

Origin and usage

"New York Times" columnist Thomas L. Friedman claims to have coined the term, having used the phrase "the pottery store rule" in a February 12, 2003 column. He has said he referred to Pottery Barn specifically in speeches.cite web | author=William Safire| year=2004 | title=You break it, you own it, you fix it language | url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2004/10/17/features/saf18.php| work= [http://www.iht.com/ International Herald Tribune] | accessdate=April 18 | accessyear=2007] According to "Washington Post" journalist Bob Woodward, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell cited the rule in the summer of 2002 when warning President George W. Bush of the consequences of military action in Iraq:

'You are going to be the proud owner of 25 million people,' he told the president. 'You will own all their hopes, aspirations, and problems. You'll own it all.' Privately, Powell and Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage called this the Pottery Barn rule: You break it, you own it.cite book | last = Woodward | first = Bob | authorlink = Bob Woodward | title = Plan of Attack | date = 2004 | pages=150]

Powell confirmed the quotation on Jonathan Dimbleby's "Dimbleby" program on April 30, 2006.

Democratic candidate John Kerry cited the rule during the first debate of the 2004 Presidential election on September 30, 2004:

Secretary of State Colin Powell told this president the Pottery Barn rule: If you break it, you fix it. Now, if you break it, you made a mistake. It's the wrong thing to do. But you own it.

Comedian Stephen Colbert satirized the rule as applied to the ongoing occupation of Iraq on his television show, the Colbert Report, in May 2007:

At Pottery Barn, if you knock over a lamp, you have to glue it back together, even if when you're done it looks terrible and it doesn't work. Oh, and you have to stay in the store forever. Oh, and it's an exploding lamp.cite episode
title = The Colbert Report
series = The Colbert Report
serieslink = The Colbert Report
airdate = May 16, 2007]

References

External links

* [http://www.wonkette.com/politics/media/powell-and-pottery-barn-003822.php Wonkette on the Pottery Barn rule]