A national political campaign is better than the best circus ever heard of, with a mass baptism and a couple of hangings thrown in.
Interpretation
The quote humorously compares political campaigns to a circus, suggesting that both are entertaining but chaotic spectacles.
H. L. Mencken's quote reflects a cynical view of political campaigns, likening them to a circus filled with drama and absurdity. By suggesting the addition of extreme events like a mass baptism and hangings, he emphasizes the sensationalism and theatrical nature of politics, which often draws public attention much like a circus performance captivates its audience.
In practice
Using this quote in a speech about the nature of political campaigns to highlight their absurdity.
I know a good many men of great learning-that is, men born with an extraordinary eagerness and capacity to acquire knowledge. One and all, they tell me that they can't recall learning anything of any value in school. All that schoolmasters managed to accomplish with them was to test and determine the amount of knowledge that they had already acquired independently-and not infrequently the determination was made clumsily and inaccurately.
It takes a long while for a naturally trustful person to reconcile himself to the idea that after all God will not help him
It is the theory of all modern civilized governments that they protect and foster the liberty of the citizen; it is the practice of all of them to limit its exercise, and sometimes very narrowly.
The central belief of every moron is that he is the victim of a mysterious conspiracy against his common rights and true deserts.
The cure for the evils of democracy is more democracy.
It is my conviction that no normal man ever fell in love, within the ordinary meaning of the term, after the age of thirty.
Bigamy is the only crime where two rites make a wrong.
The New York papers have long known that no large question is ever really settled until I have been consulted.
Well, I'm having a good time. Which makes me feel guilty too. How very English.
If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh, otherwise they'll kill you.
Why anybody gets my sense of humor I never know, but I do know that when they do, I keep them as close as I possibly can.
Today's public figures can no longer write their own speeches or books, and there is some evidence that they can't read them either.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.