WIST Quotations

Oliver, Andrew -- Speech (1774?)

Dave — Thu, 18 Jun 2026 17:29:59 +0000

Politics is the most hazardous of all professions. There is not another in which a man can hope to do so much good to his fellow creatures; neither is there any in which by a mere loss of nerve he may do such widespread harm. Nor is there another in which he may so easily lose his own soul; nor is there another in which a positive and strict veracity is so difficult. But danger is the inseparable companion of honor. With all the temptations and degradations that beset it, politics is still the noblest career any man can choose.

Andrew Oliver (1706-1774) American Colonial merchant, politician, government official
Speech (1774?)
(Source)

I cannot find an original source for this. It shows up frequently in the US Congressional Record, especially after it was used by Adlai Stevenson in a 1952 campaign speech.

It is also attributed to his same-named son (1731-1799), who founded the Political Journal.

Adams, John -- Letter (1776-01-08) to Mercy Otis Warren

Dave — Mon, 26 Jan 2026 17:08:14 +0000

However, it is the Part of a great Politician to make the Character of his People; to extinguish among them the Follies and Vices that he sees, and to create in them the Virtues and Abilities which he sees wanting. I wish I was sure that America has one such Politician, but I fear she has not.

John Adams (1735–1826) American lawyer, Founding Father, statesman, US President (1797–1801)
Letter (1776-01-08) to Mercy Otis Warren
(Source)

Nietzsche, Friedrich -- (Attributed)

Dave — Tue, 23 Dec 2025 04:39:28 +0000

A politician divides mankind into two classes: tools and enemies. That means he knows only one class: enemies.

Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) German philosopher and poet
(Attributed)
(Source)

This is frequently attributed to Nietzsche, without citation -- a clue that it is a paraphrase of a more complex or nuanced passage. I found only one reference online that mentioned a source -- Nietzsche's Human, All Too Human (1880) -- but a search through multiple translations did not uncover this sentiment.

Rogers, Will -- Article (1924-06-25), “Rogers Sees Harrison as Rival Monologuist,” New York Times, Democratic Convention Article 3, New York City

Dave — Fri, 17 Oct 2025 20:26:05 +0000

The building is literally lined with flags. I could never understand the exact connection between the flag and a bunch of politicians.
Why a political speaker’s platform should be draped in flags, any more than a factory where men work, or an office building, is beyond me.

Will Rogers (1879-1935) American humorist
Article (1924-06-25), “Rogers Sees Harrison as Rival Monologuist,” New York Times, Democratic Convention Article 3, New York City
(Source)

Variant (labeled 1924-06-23):

I could never understand the exact connection between the flag and a bunch of politicians. It's beyond me why a political speaker's platform should be draped in flags, any more than a factory where honest men work.

Orwell, George -- Essay (1946-05), “Second Thoughts on James Burnham,” Polemic Magazine

Dave — Fri, 01 Aug 2025 15:19:02 +0000

It is difficult to think of any politician who has lived to be eighty and still been regarded as a success. What we call a “great” statesman normally means one who dies before his policy has had time to take effect. If Cromwell had lived a few years longer he would probably have fallen from power, in which case we should now regard him as a failure. If Pétain had died in 1930, France would have venerated him as a hero and patriot. Napoleon remarked once that if only a cannon-ball had happened to hit him when he was riding into Moscow, he would have gone down to history as the greatest man who ever lived.

George Orwell (1903-1950) English journalist, essayist, writer [pseud. of Eric Arthur Blair]
Essay (1946-05), “Second Thoughts on James Burnham,” Polemic Magazine
(Source)

Published separately as a pamphlet, James Burnham and the Managerial Revolution (1946).

Euripides -- Hecuba [Hekabe; Ἑκάβη], l. 254ff (c. 424 BC) [tr. Arrowsmith (1958)]

Dave — Tue, 22 Apr 2025 17:44:38 +0000

HECUBA:O gods, spare me the sight
of this thankless breed, these politicians
who cringe for favors from a screaming mob
and do not care what harm they do their friends,
providing they can please a crowd!

[ἙΚΆΒΗ: ἀχάριστον ὑμῶν σπέρμ᾿, ὅσοι δημηγόρους
ζηλοῦτε τιμάς· μηδὲ γιγνώσκοισθέ μοι,
οἳ τοὺς φίλους βλάπτοντες οὐ φροντίζετε,
ἢν τοῖσι πολλοῖς πρὸς χάριν λέγητέ τι.]

Euripides (485?-406? BC) Greek tragic dramatist
Hecuba [Hekabe; Ἑκάβη], l. 254ff (c. 424 BC) [tr. Arrowsmith (1958)]
(Source)

To Ulysses/Odysseus, whom she had spared when he entered Troy as a spy. After Troy's fall, she is enslaved to him, and he intends to have her daughter, Polyxdora, sacrificed to honor fallen Achilles, to appease his fellow Greek conquerors.

(Source (Greek)). Alternate translations:

O ungrateful race
Of men, who aim at popular applause
By your smooth speeches; would to heav'n I ne'er
Had known you, for ye heed not how ye wound
Your friends, whene'er ye can say aught to win
The crowd.
[tr. Wodhull (1809)]

Thankless is your race, as many of you as court honor from oratory before the populace; be ye not known to me, who care not to injure your friends, provided you say what is gratifying to the people.
[tr. Edwards (1826)]

A thankful tribe you are, who fill your tongues
To popular grace; would I had never known you!
Of injuries to friends you reck not, if
Your fine speech wins the favour of the people.
[ed. Ramage (1864)]

A thankless spawn, all ye that grasp at honour
By babbling to the mob! -- let me not know you,
Who injure friends, and nothing reck thereof,
So ye may something say to please the rabble!
[tr. Way (Loeb) (1894)]

O thankless brood, who jostle to be called
The people's leaders, may I not even know you!
Who turn a phrase to catch the mob's applause,
And care not if your phrase destroy your friend.
[tr. Sheppard (1924)]

A thankless race! all you who covet honor from the mob for your oratory. Oh that you were unknown to me! you who harm your friends and think no more of it, if you can say a word to win the mob.
[tr. Coleridge (1938)]

May your breed turn their backs
On you and your like,
Smelling sweet up all men's noses.
You're no friend of mine.
Stay that way.
You shake the hands of all and sundry
Smiling as you spit
On your nearest and dearest
For the sake of pleasing everybody.
[tr. McGuinness (2004)]

What a graceless breed you are, you demagogues, grubbing for favours from the mob. Spare me your friendship. You'd harm your friends if that would please the mob.
[tr. Harrison (2005)]

Ah! All of you lot who are jealous of the honours received by political leaders are an ungrateful lot, the whole generation of you! I wish I had never known any of you. You don’t care how much you hurt your friends so long as you say something to pacify the masses.
[tr. Theodoridis (2007)]

O gods save us from politicians and demagogues like you
who don’t care what harm you do as long as the multitudes
are pleased and the applause is loud.
[tr. Karden/Street (2011)]

You are a thankless brood, you mob of wannabe
Politicians. I wish I didn’t know you
When you don’t care about harming your friends
As long as you say something the masses will like.
[tr. @sentantiq (2020)]

Bolt, Robert -- A Man for All Seasons, play, Act 1 (1960)

Dave — Tue, 25 Mar 2025 19:47:35 +0000

MORE: Well … I believe, when statesmen forsake their own private conscience for the sake of their own public duties … they lead their country by a short route to chaos.

Robert Bolt (1924-1995) English dramatist
A Man for All Seasons, play, Act 1 (1960)
(Source)

Speaking to Wolsey about why he opposes Henry taking a new wife, even if the alternative is another civil war.

Bolt's 1966 film adaptation uses nearly the same line (starting out with "Well ... I thin that when ..."). (Video (Source); dialog verified.)

Nash, Ogden -- “The Politician,” st. 2, I’m a Stranger Here Myself (1938)

Dave — Mon, 10 Jun 2024 14:26:01 +0000

Whether elected or appointed
He considers himself the Lord’s anointed,
And indeed the ointment lingers on him
So thick you can’t get your fingers on him.

Ogden Nash (1902-1971) American poet
“The Politician,” st. 2, I’m a Stranger Here Myself (1938)
(Source)

Carlyle, Thomas -- The French Revolution: A History, Part 1, Book 3, ch. 9 (1.3.9) (1837)

Dave — Thu, 21 Mar 2024 19:59:36 +0000

This is that same Foulon named âme damnée du Parlement; a man grown gray in treachery, in griping, projecting, intriguing and iniquity: who once when it was objected, to some finance-scheme of his, “What will the people do?” — made answer, in the fire of discussion, “The people may eat grass”: hasty words, which fly abroad irrevocable, — and will send back tidings!

Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881) Scottish essayist and historian
The French Revolution: A History, Part 1, Book 3, ch. 9 (1.3.9) (1837)
(Source)

Writing of Joseph-François Foullon de Doué (1715-1789), French politician, the "damned soul of the Parliament," and a Controller-General of Finances under Louis XVI. Widely hated by "the people" for such statements and actions, he was one of the early targets of the French Revolution, as told in Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities. He was marched from his country hiding place back to Paris, with the mob shoving grass and hay into his face and mouth. He became the first recorded person to have been lynched from a lamp post. (The rope broke three times, so he was instead beheaded and his grass-stuffed head marched about on a pike.)

Elders, Joycelyn -- Penn & Teller: Bullshit!, s. 4, ep. 6 “Abstinence” (2006-06-05)

Dave — Mon, 27 Nov 2023 16:25:35 +0000

As long as I was in Washington I never met anybody that I thought was good enough, who knew enough, or who loved enough to make sexual decisions for anybody else.

Joycelyn Elders (b. 1933) American pediatrician, public health administrator, academic
Penn & Teller: Bullshit!, s. 4, ep. 6 “Abstinence” (2006-06-05)
(Source)

Chamfort, Nicolas -- Products of Perfected Civilization [Produits de la Civilisation Perfectionée], Part 1 “Maxims and Thoughts [Maximes et Pensées],” ch. 8, ¶ 500 (1795) [tr. Merwin (1969)]

Dave — Mon, 09 Oct 2023 20:17:47 +0000

In France they ignore those who set fires and punish those who give the alarm.

[En France, on laisse en repos ceux qui mettent le feu, et on persécute ceux qui sonnent le tocsin.]

Nicolas Chamfort (1741-1794) French writer, epigrammist (b. Nicolas-Sébastien Roch)
Products of Perfected Civilization [Produits de la Civilisation Perfectionée], Part 1 “Maxims and Thoughts [Maximes et Pensées],” ch. 8, ¶ 500 (1795) [tr. Merwin (1969)]
(Source)

Likely true for more than just France, especially as Chamfort was referring to political leadership.

The source for this fragment seems to be from a political incident. After the exile of Calonne in April 1787, after proposing a number of social reforms, Chamfort noted, "They ignored him when he started the fire, but punished him when he sounded the alarm." [tr. Dusinberre (1992), ¶ 499]. When collected as his "Thoughts," it was made more general.

(Source (French), ¶ 500). Alternate translations:

In France we leave unmolested those who set fire to the house and persecute those who sound the alarm bell.
[tr. Hutchinson (1902)]

In France we harry the man who rings the alarum bell, and leave the man in peace who starts the fire.
[tr. Mathers (1926)]

In France, those who commit arson are left in peace, and those who sound the alarm are persecuted.
[tr. Pearson (1973)]

In France, we leave arsonists in peace and persecute those who sound the alarm.
[tr. Parmée (2003), ¶ 257]

In France, people leave alone the person who started the fire and persecute the one who rings the bell.
[tr. Siniscalchi (1994), ¶ 499]

Rogers, Will -- Column (1923-11-11), “Weekly Article: Come On, Boys, Let’s Rescue the Politicians” [No. 48]

Dave — Thu, 08 Jun 2023 15:01:44 +0000

You take a Democrat and a Republican and you keep them both out of office and I bet you they will turn out to be good friends and maybe make useful citizens, and devote their time to some work instead of lectioneering all the time.

Will Rogers (1879-1935) American humorist
Column (1923-11-11), “Weekly Article: Come On, Boys, Let’s Rescue the Politicians” [No. 48]
(Source)

Rogers, Will -- Radio broadcast (1935-06-02)

Dave — Wed, 10 May 2023 18:44:15 +0000

Well, you know how Congress is. They’ll vote for anything if the thing they vote for will turn around and vote for them.

Will Rogers (1879-1935) American humorist
Radio broadcast (1935-06-02)
(Source)

Rogers, Will -- Column (1925-02-22), “Weekly Article: These Reds Are Like the Exhaust to an Automobile, All Noise and Smell” [No. 115]

Dave — Wed, 03 May 2023 17:07:40 +0000

The last few days I have read various addresses made on Lincoln’s Birthday. Every Politician always talks about him, but none of them ever imitate him.

Will Rogers (1879-1935) American humorist
Column (1925-02-22), “Weekly Article: These Reds Are Like the Exhaust to an Automobile, All Noise and Smell” [No. 115]
(Source)

Rogers, Will -- Column (1934-07-05), “Daily Telegram”

Dave — Fri, 21 Apr 2023 02:14:30 +0000

A statesman is a man that can do what the politician would like to do but can’t, because he is afraid of not being elected.

Will Rogers (1879-1935) American humorist
Column (1934-07-05), “Daily Telegram”
(Source)

Rogers, Will -- Column (unpublished), “Weekly Article”

Dave — Wed, 12 Apr 2023 16:48:39 +0000

That’s the problem with a Politician’s life, somebody is always interrupting it with an election.

Will Rogers (1879-1935) American humorist
Column (unpublished), “Weekly Article”
(Source)

Ingersoll, Robert Green -- Decoration Day Speech, Academy of Music, New York City (29 May 1882)

Dave — Fri, 15 Jul 2022 22:55:28 +0000

Mere politicians wish the country to do something for them; true patriots desire to do something for their country.

Robert Green Ingersoll (1833-1899) American lawyer, freethinker, orator
Decoration Day Speech, Academy of Music, New York City (29 May 1882)
(Source)

See Holmes, Harding, Kennedy.

Lec, Stanislaw -- More Unkempt Thoughts [Myśli nieuczesane nowe] (1964) [tr. Gałązka (1969)]

Dave — Tue, 01 Mar 2022 15:59:05 +0000

Politics: a Trojan horse race.

Stanislaw Lec (1909-1966) Polish aphorist, poet, satirist
More Unkempt Thoughts [Myśli nieuczesane nowe] (1964) [tr. Gałązka (1969)]
(Source)

Lippmann, Walter -- “The Democratic Malady,” The Public Philosophy (1955)

Dave — Mon, 09 Aug 2021 15:05:06 +0000

With exceptions so rare they are regarded as miracles of nature, successful democratic politicians are insecure and intimidated men. They advance politically only as they placate, appease, bribe, seduce, bamboozle, or otherwise manage to manipulate the demanding and threatening elements in their constituencies. The decisive consideration is not whether the proposition is good but whether it is popular — not whether it will work well and prove itself but whether the active talking constituents like it immediately. Politicians rationalize this servitude by saying that in a democracy public men are the servants of the people.

Walter Lippmann (1889-1974) American journalist and author
“The Democratic Malady,” The Public Philosophy (1955)
(Source)

Taylor, A. J. P. -- The Origins of the Second World War, ch. 1 (1961)

Dave — Mon, 07 Jun 2021 15:35:37 +0000

In retrospect, though many were guilty, none was innocent. The purpose of political activity is to provide peace and prosperity; and in this every statesman failed, for whatever reason. This is a story without heroes, and perhaps even without villains.

A. J. P. Taylor (1906-1990) British historian, journalist, broadcaster [Alan John Percivale Taylor]
The Origins of the Second World War, ch. 1 (1961)
(Source)

Aristotle -- Problems [Problemata], Book 30, Q. 1 / 953a [tr. @sentantiq (2018)]

Dave — Tue, 11 May 2021 00:20:37 +0000

All those men who are preeminent in philosophy or politics or poetry or the other arts are clearly melancholic.

Aristotle (384-322 BC) Greek philosopher
Problems [Problemata], Book 30, Q. 1 / 953a [tr. @sentantiq (2018)]
(Source)

Possibly one of the sources of a famous misattributed Aristotle quotation by Seneca the Younger.

Alternate translation: "All those who have become eminent in philosophy or politics or poetry or the arts are clearly of an atrabilious temperament." [tr. Forster (1927)]

Chesterfield (Lord) -- Letter to his son, #205 (5 Dec 1749)

Dave — Thu, 25 Mar 2021 21:46:18 +0000

Such closet politicians never fail to assign the deepest motives for the most trifling actions; instead of often ascribing the greatest actions to the most trifling causes, in which they would be much seldomer mistaken. They read and write of kings, heroes, and statesmen, as never doing any thing but upon the deepest principles of sound policy. But those who see and observe kings, heroes and statesmen, discover that they have headaches, indigestions, humours, and passions, just like other people; every one of which, in their turns, determine their wills, in defiance of their reason.

Lord Chesterfield (1694-1773) English statesman, wit [Philip Dormer Stanhope]
Letter to his son, #205 (5 Dec 1749)
(Source)

Richards, Ann -- “Ann Richards Discusses Texas, Politics and Humor,” Larry King Live, CNN (23 Jan 2001)

Dave — Mon, 08 Feb 2021 15:25:37 +0000

The public does not like you to mislead or represent yourself to be something you’re not. And the other thing that the public really does like is the self-examination to say, you know, I’m not perfect. I’m just like you. They don’t ask their public officials to be perfect. They just ask them to be smart, truthful, honest, and show a modicum of good sense.

Ann Richards (1933-2006) American politician [Dorothy Ann Willis Richards]
“Ann Richards Discusses Texas, Politics and Humor,” Larry King Live, CNN (23 Jan 2001)
(Source)

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

Dave — Mon, 29 Jun 2020 22:24:41 +0000

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)
(Source)

Cameron, Simon -- (Attributed)

Dave — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 20:44:15 +0000

An honest politician is one who when he is bought will stay bought.

Simon Cameron (1799-1889) American businessman and politician
(Attributed)

Cameron was infamous for his corruption, but this is not found in his writing or reliable accounts, and similar phrases can be found in the era. More discussion here.

Wills, Garry -- Confessions of a Conservative, ch. 15 (1979)

Dave — Mon, 01 Jun 2020 19:40:03 +0000

Politics demands a great capacity for self-deception, which rescues the politician from hypocrisy. He can normally manage to believe what he is saying for the time it takes him to say it. This gives him a certain sincerity even when he is saying opposite things to opposite people.

Garry Wills (b. 1934) American author, journalist, historian
Confessions of a Conservative, ch. 15 (1979)
(Source)

Lynn, Jonathan -- Yes Minister, 02×07 “A Question of Loyalty” (BBC2 Television) (1981-04-09) [with Anthony Jay]

Dave — Tue, 10 Mar 2020 15:37:24 +0000

BETTY OLDHAM: Look, Sir Humphrey, whatever we ask the Minister, he says is an administrative question for you, and whatever we ask you, you say is a policy question for the Minister. How do you suggest we find out what is going on?

SIR HUMPHREY: Yes, yes, yes, I do see that there is a real dilemma here. In that, while it has been government policy to regard policy as a responsibility of Ministers and administration as a responsibility of Officials, the questions of administrative policy can cause confusion between the policy of administration and the administration of policy, especially when responsibility for the administration of the policy of administration conflicts, or overlaps with, responsibility for the policy of the administration of policy.

BETTY OLDHAM: Well, that’s a load of meaningless drivel. Isn’t it?

SIR HUMPHREY: It’s not for me to comment on government policy. You must ask the Minister.

Jonathan Lynn (b. 1943) English actor, comedy writer, director
Yes Minister, 02×07 “A Question of Loyalty” (BBC2 Television) (1981-04-09) [with Anthony Jay]

Arthur, Chester A. -- (Attributed)

Dave — Thu, 23 Jan 2020 18:17:26 +0000

Madam, I may be President of the United States, but my private life is nobody’s damn business.

Chester Alan Arthur (1829-1886) American attorney, politician, US President (1881-85)
(Attributed)

In various sources, this was a reply made to a temperance reformer about his drinking alcohol, against journalists writing of his late wife and children, or to a gossip commenting on rumors he was seeing other women.

Trumbo, Dalton -- Spartacus (1960) [novel by Howard Fast]

Dave — Wed, 07 Nov 2018 00:32:55 +0000

GRACCHUS: You know, this republic of ours is something like a rich widow. Most Romans love her as their mother, but Crassus dreams of marrying the old girl, to put it politely.

Dalton Trumbo (1905-1976) American screenwriter and novelist [James Dalton Trumbo]
Spartacus (1960) [novel by Howard Fast]

Taylor, Henry -- The Statesman: An Ironical Treatise on the Art of Succeeding, ch. 17 (1836)

Dave — Wed, 23 Aug 2017 01:50:02 +0000

Considering the temptations under which politicians are placed, of changing their opinions, or rather their professions of opinion, from motives of self interest, the world will not give them credit for motives of honest conviction, unless when the change shall be to their manifest loss and disadvantage.

Henry Taylor (1800-1886) English dramatist, poet, bureaucrat, man of letters
The Statesman: An Ironical Treatise on the Art of Succeeding, ch. 17 (1836)
(Source)

Mencken, H. L. -- “What I Believe,” sec. 2, Forum and Century (Sep 1930)

Dave — Mon, 15 May 2017 15:05:22 +0000

The principle is surely not new in the world: everyone ought to know by this time that a mountebank, thinking only of tomorrow’s cakes, is far safer with power in his hands than a prophet and martyr, his eyes fixed frantically upon the rewards beyond the grave.

H. L. Mencken (1880-1956) American writer and journalist [Henry Lewis Mencken]
“What I Believe,” sec. 2, Forum and Century (Sep 1930)
(Source)

Jones, Mary Harris "Mother" -- Speech (1903), in The Autobiography of Mother Jones, ch. 10 (1925)

Dave — Sat, 29 Oct 2016 04:53:43 +0000

I asked a man in prison once how he happened to be there and he said he had stolen a pair of shoes. I told him if he had stolen a railroad he would be a United States Senator.

Mary Harris "Mother" Jones (1860-1930) American labor leader [a.k.a. Mother Jones]
Speech (1903), in The Autobiography of Mother Jones, ch. 10 (1925)

Jay, Antony -- Yes, Prime Minister, 2×05 “Power to the People” (7 Jan 1988)

Dave — Tue, 02 Aug 2016 02:07:46 +0000

He’s suffering from Politicians’ Logic. Something must be done, this is something, therefore we must do it.

Antony Jay (1930-2016) English writer, broadcaster, director
Yes, Prime Minister, 2×05 “Power to the People” (7 Jan 1988)

Variant: "There is this great idea about the logic of a politician, along the lines of: 'Something must be done, this is something, therefore we must do it.'"

Adams, Samuel -- Letter to James Warren (4 Nov 1775)

Dave — Wed, 20 Jul 2016 04:14:05 +0000

The public cannot be too curious concerning the characters of public men.

Samuel Adams (1722-1803) American revolutionary, statesman
Letter to James Warren (4 Nov 1775)

Cicero, Marcus Tullius -- (Attributed)

Dave — Fri, 22 Apr 2016 19:42:01 +0000

Brevity is the best recommendation of speech, whether in a senator or an orator.

Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BC) Roman orator, statesman, philosopher
(Attributed)
(Source)

In Tryon Edwards, A Dictionary of Thoughts (1891).

Emerson, Ralph Waldo -- Letter to Thomas Carlyle (1835)

Dave — Wed, 13 Apr 2016 13:46:24 +0000

A man plunges into politics to make his fortune, and only cares that the world should last his days.

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) American essayist, lecturer, poet
Letter to Thomas Carlyle (1835)

Huxley, Aldous -- Brave New World Revisited (1958)

Dave — Fri, 25 Mar 2016 13:37:44 +0000

The methods now being used to merchandise the political candidate as though he were a deodorant positively guarantee the electorate against ever hearing the truth about anything.

Aldous Huxley (1894-1963) English novelist, essayist and critic
Brave New World Revisited (1958)

Fine, Janice -- Interview with Laura Orlando, “The Clean-Elections Movement,” Dollars and Sense (Jul/Aug 2000)

Dave — Fri, 04 Mar 2016 18:35:10 +0000

If a baseball player slides into home plate and, right before the umpire rules if he is safe or out, the player says to the umpire, “Here is $1,000,” what would we call that? We would call that a bribe. If a lawyer was arguing a case before a judge and said, “Your honor before you decide on the guilt or innocence of my client, here is $1,000,” what would we call that? We would call that a bribe. But if an industry lobbyist walks into the office of a key legislator and hands her or him a check for $1,000, we call that a campaign contribution. We should call it a bribe.

Janice Fine (contemp.) American political scientist, academic
Interview with Laura Orlando, “The Clean-Elections Movement,” Dollars and Sense (Jul/Aug 2000)

Kissinger, Henry -- “With Faint Praise,” New York Times Book Review (16 Jul 1995)

Dave — Fri, 09 Oct 2015 16:45:23 +0000

The political leaders with whom we are familiar generally aspire to be superstars rather than heroes. The distinction is crucial. Superstars strive for approbation; heroes walk alone. Superstars crave consensus; heroes define themselves by the judgment of a future they see it as their task to bring about. Superstars seek success in a technique for eliciting support; heroes pursue success as the outgrowth of their inner values.

Henry Kissinger (1923-2024) German-American diplomat
“With Faint Praise,” New York Times Book Review (16 Jul 1995)

Kissinger, Henry -- The White House Years, ch. 3 (1979)

Dave — Mon, 03 Aug 2015 13:05:19 +0000

The convictions that leaders have formed before reaching high office are the intellectual capital they will consume as long as they continue in office. There is little time for leaders to reflect. They are locked in an endless battle in which the urgent constantly gains on the important. The public life of every political figure is a continual struggle to rescue an element of choice from the pressure of circumstance.

Henry Kissinger (1923-2024) German-American diplomat
The White House Years, ch. 3 (1979)

Lippmann, Walter -- A Preface to Politics, ch. 3 (1914)

Dave — Thu, 04 Jun 2015 16:57:40 +0000

When philosophers try to be politicians, they generally cease to be philosophers.

Walter Lippmann (1889-1974) American journalist and author
A Preface to Politics, ch. 3 (1914)

Heinlein, Robert A. -- Time Enough For Love (1973)

Dave — Tue, 21 Apr 2015 23:50:30 +0000

I don’t trust a man who talks about ethics when he’s picking my pockets.

Robert A. Heinlein (1907-1988) American writer
Time Enough For Love (1973)

Adams, John -- Letter (1776-04-16) to Mercy Otis Warren

Dave — Thu, 26 Feb 2015 16:52:53 +0000

Public Virtue cannot exist in a Nation without private, and public Virtue is the only Foundation of Republics. There must be a possitive Passion for the public good, the public Interest, Honour, Power, and Glory, established in the Minds of the People, or there can be no Republican Government, nor any real Liberty. And this public Passion must be Superiour to all private Passions. Men must be ready, they must pride themselves, and be happy to sacrifice their private Pleasures, Passions, and Interests, nay their private Friendships and dearest Connections, when they Stand in Competition with the Rights of society.

John Adams (1735–1826) American lawyer, Founding Father, statesman, US President (1797–1801)
Letter (1776-04-16) to Mercy Otis Warren
(Source)

Adams went on to express doubt whether an American nation could live up to such ideals.

Clarke, James F. -- “Wanted, a Statesman!”, Old and New Magazine (Dec 1870)

Dave — Fri, 03 Oct 2014 11:42:50 +0000

The statesman values principles more than measures, and measures more than party. I am afraid the politician reverses this rule, valuing his party most, measures next, and principles least.

James Freeman Clarke (1810-1888) American theologian and author
“Wanted, a Statesman!”, Old and New Magazine (Dec 1870)
(Source)

Clarke, James F. -- “Wanted, a Statesman!”, Old and New Magazine (Dec 1870)

Dave — Fri, 26 Sep 2014 11:42:47 +0000

The difficulty about a politician, no matter how honest and well-intentioned he may be, is always this: that the matter of absolute importance in his mind, to which everything else must yield, is to carry the next election for his party.

James Freeman Clarke (1810-1888) American theologian and author
“Wanted, a Statesman!”, Old and New Magazine (Dec 1870)
(Source)

Clarke, James F. -- “Wanted, a Statesman!”, Old and New Magazine (Dec 1870)

Dave — Fri, 19 Sep 2014 12:04:04 +0000

A politician, for example, is a man who thinks of the next election; while the statesman thinks of the next generation.

James Freeman Clarke (1810-1888) American theologian and author
“Wanted, a Statesman!”, Old and New Magazine (Dec 1870)
(Source)

Often paraphrased: "A politician thinks of the next election; a statesman thinks of the next generation."

Kushner, Tony -- Interview with Ben Greenman, “Tony Kushner, Radical Pragmatist,” Mother Jones (Nov/Dec 2003)

Dave — Thu, 21 Aug 2014 12:53:33 +0000

The system isn’t about ideals. The country doesn’t elect great leaders. It elects fucked-up people who for reasons of ego want to run the world. Then the citizenry makes them become great.

Tony Kushner (b. 1956) American playwright and screenwriter
Interview with Ben Greenman, “Tony Kushner, Radical Pragmatist,” Mother Jones (Nov/Dec 2003)
(Source)

Truman, Harry S -- Speech, Reciprocity Club, Washington (11 Apr 1958)

Dave — Wed, 13 Aug 2014 12:48:17 +0000

I’m proud that I’m a politician. A politician is a man who understands government, and it takes a politician to run a government. A statesman is a politician who’s been dead 10 or 15 years.

Harry S Truman (1884-1972) US President (1945-1953)
Speech, Reciprocity Club, Washington (11 Apr 1958)

See Thomas Reed.

Reed, Thomas Brackett -- (Attributed)

Dave — Wed, 06 Aug 2014 13:56:54 +0000

A statesman is a successful politician who is dead.

Thomas Brackett Reed (1839-1902) American politician, Speaker of the House (1889-91, 1895-99)
(Attributed)

Quoted in Henry Cabot Lodge, The Democracy of the Constitution, ch. 7 (1915).

Lowell, James Russell -- The Bigelow Papers: Second Series, ch. 5 (1867)

Dave — Wed, 09 Jul 2014 12:53:57 +0000

A ginooine statesman should be on his guard,
Ef he must hev beliefs, nut to b’lieve ’em tu hard.

[A genuine statesman should be on his guard,
If he must have beliefs, not to believe them too hard.]

James Russell Lowell (1819-1891) American diplomat, essayist, poet
The Bigelow Papers: Second Series, ch. 5 (1867)

Lowell, James Russell -- “Abraham Lincoln, 1864-1865” (1869)

Dave — Wed, 02 Jul 2014 12:49:02 +0000

Doubtless he had an ideal, but it was the ideal of a practical statesman, — to aim at the best, and to take the next best, if he is lucky enough to get even that.

James Russell Lowell (1819-1891) American diplomat, essayist, poet
“Abraham Lincoln, 1864-1865” (1869)
(Source)

Printed in The North American Review, #222 (Jan 1869) under the title "Before and After." Sometimes given as "The idea of a practical statesman is to aim ...."

Kuralt, Charles -- On the Road with Charles Kuralt (1985)

Dave — Wed, 21 May 2014 12:08:50 +0000

To read the front pages, you might conclude that Americans are mostly out for themselves, venal, grasping, and mean-spirited. The front pages have room only for defense contractors who cheat and politicians with their hands in the till. But you can’t travel the back roads very long without discovering a multitude of gentle people doing good for others with no expectation of gain or recognition. The everyday kindness of the back roads more than makes up for the acts of greed in the headlines.

Charles Kuralt (1934-1997) American journalist
On the Road with Charles Kuralt (1985)

Lincoln, Abraham -- Remark (1865-02) to John M. Palmer

Dave — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 13:48:03 +0000

It was a time when a man with a policy would have been fatal to the country. I have never had a policy. I have simply tried to do what seemed best each day, as each day came.

Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) American lawyer, politician, US President (1861-65)
Remark (1865-02) to John M. Palmer
(Source)

About Lincoln's election in 18960. Attributed in Alexander McClure, ed., "Abe" Lincoln's Yarns and Stories (1901). Palmer was a US Senator and Governor from Illinois, who first met Lincoln in 1839 (while acting as Major-General of the state's Volunteer Army) and recounted this comment from his final visit to Lincoln White House that month.

Swift, Jonathan -- Gulliver’s Travels, Part 2 “Voyage to Brobdingnab,” ch. 7 (1726)

Dave — Wed, 12 May 2010 14:09:22 +0000

And he gave it for his opinion, that whosoever could make two ears of corn or two blades of grass to grow upon a spot of ground where only one grew before, would deserve better of mankind, and do more essential service to his country, than the whole race of politicians put together.

Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) English writer and churchman
Gulliver’s Travels, Part 2 “Voyage to Brobdingnab,” ch. 7 (1726)
(Source)

Murrow, Edward R. -- Address at London Guildhall (19 Oct 1959)

Dave — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 10:42:24 +0000

The politician in my country seeks votes, affection and respect, in that order…. With few notable exceptions, they are simply men who want to be loved.

Edward R. Murrow (1908-1965) American journalist
Address at London Guildhall (19 Oct 1959)

Murrow, Edward R. -- Address, London Guildhall (19 Oct 1959)

Dave — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 20:03:39 +0000

The politician in my country seeks votes, affection and respect, in that order …. With few notable exceptions, they are simply men who want to be loved.

Edward R. Murrow (1908-1965) American journalist
Address, London Guildhall (19 Oct 1959)

Cicero, Marcus Tullius -- Epistulae ad Familiares [Letters to Friends], Book 1, Letter 9, sec. 21 (1.9.21), to P. Lentulus Spinther (54 BC) [tr. Shackleton Bailey (1978), # 20]

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 19:00:00 +0000

Unchanging consistency of standpoint has never been considered a virtue in great statesmen.

[Numquam enim in praestantibus in re publica gubernanda viris laudata est in una sententia perpetua permansio.]

Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BC) Roman orator, statesman, philosopher
Epistulae ad Familiares [Letters to Friends], Book 1, Letter 9, sec. 21 (1.9.21), to P. Lentulus Spinther (54 BC) [tr. Shackleton Bailey (1978), # 20]
(Source)

(Source (Latin)). Alternate translation:

Neither shall you ever finde, that wise men, and such as are expert in the affaires of the Common-wealth, praise him, that doth alwayes proceed, after one and the selfe same order.
[tr. Webbe (1620)]

In conformity to this notion, the most judicious reasoners on the great art of government, have universally condemned an inflexible perseverance in one uniform tenor of measures.
[tr. Melmoth (1753), 2.17]

Obstinately to hold to one unvarying opinion has never been accounted among the merits of those eminent men who have guided the helm of State.
[tr. Jeans (1880), 2.39]

For the persistence in the same view has never been regarded as a merit in men eminent for their guidance of the helm of state.
[tr. Shuckburgh (1899), # 152]

For never has an undeviating persistence in one opinion been reckoned as a merit in those distinguished men who have steered the ship of state.
[tr. Williams (Loeb) (1928)]

Persistence in a single view has never been regarded as a merit in political leaders.
[Common translation, e.g.]

Emerson, Ralph Waldo -- Essay (1841), “Self-Reliance,” Essays: First Series, No. 2

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 19:00:00 +0000

A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines.

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) American essayist, lecturer, poet
Essay (1841), “Self-Reliance,” Essays: First Series, No. 2
(Source)

This thought continues here.

This essay was inspired by his reading of Walter Savage Landor in 1833, with passages pulled from his lecture "Individualism," last in his course on "The Philosophy of History" (1836–1837), with other passages from the lectures "School," "Genius," and "Duty" in his course on "Human Life" (1838–1839).

Lowell, James Russell -- “Abraham Lincoln” (1864), My Study Windows (1871)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

This imputation of inconsistency is one to which every sound politician and every honest thinker must sooner or later subject himself. The foolish and the dead alone never change their opinions.

James Russell Lowell (1819-1891) American diplomat, essayist, poet
“Abraham Lincoln” (1864), My Study Windows (1871)
(Source)

Santayana, George -- The Life of Reason or The Phases of Human Progress, vol. 2 “Reason in Society,” ch. 3 “Industry, Government, and War” (1905-06)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 19:00:00 +0000

To delight in war is a merit in the soldier, a dangerous quality in the captain, and a positive crime in the statesman.

George Santayana (1863-1952) Spanish-American poet and philosopher [Jorge Agustín Nicolás Ruíz de Santayana y Borrás]
The Life of Reason or The Phases of Human Progress, vol. 2 “Reason in Society,” ch. 3 “Industry, Government, and War” (1905-06)