A politician or political thinker who calls himself a political realist is usually boasting that he sees politics, so to speak, in the raw; he is generally a proclaimed cynic and pessimist who makes it his business to look behind words and fine speeches for the motive. This motive is always low.

Mary McCarthy (1912–1989) American author, critic, political activist

“American Realist Playwrights,” On the Contrary (1961)
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