Laws are like sausages. You sleep far better the less you know about how they are made.
Otto Von BismarckRead
Never believe anything in politics until it has been officially denied.
Interpretation
In politics, skepticism is crucial; official denials often indicate truth.
This quote suggests that in the realm of politics, one should approach information with a degree of skepticism, particularly when it comes to denials made by those in power. Bismarck implies that official statements are often crafted to mislead, and understanding the truth requires a critical eye, particularly regarding the actions and intentions of political figures.
In practice
In a discussion about political scandals.
Laws are like sausages. You sleep far better the less you know about how they are made.
Preventive war is like committing suicide out of fear of death.
With a gentleman I am always a gentleman and a half, and with a fraud I try to be a fraud and a half.
Politics is the art of the possible, the attainable — the art of the next best
It is the destiny of the weak to be devoured by the strong.
A generation that has taken a beating is always followed by a generation that deals one.
The problem with elections is that anybody who wants an office badly enough to run for it probably shouldn’t have it. And anybody who does not want an office badly enough to run for it probably shouldn’t have it, either. Government office should be received like a child’s Christmas present, with surprise and delight. Instead it is usually received like a diploma, an anticlimax that never seems worth the struggle to earn it.
In 1979, Iranians carried out an illegitimate act: They overthrew a tyrant that the United States had imposed and supported, and moved on an independent path, not following U.S. orders.
For what were all these country patriots born? To hunt, and vote, and raise the price of corn?
I have never voted. Like most people I am utterly disenchanted by politics. Like most people I regard politicians as frauds and liars and the current political system as nothing more than a bureaucratic means for furthering the augmentation and advantages of economic elites.
Our brand of democracy is hard. But I can promise that a year from now, when I no longer hold this office, I'll be right there with you as a citizen - inspired by those voices of fairness and vision, of grit and good humor and kindness that have helped America travel so far.
The Cold War did end in the victory of one side and in the defeat of the other. This reality cannot be denied, despite the understandable sensitivities that such a conclusion provokes among the tenderhearted in the West and some of the former leaders of the defeated side.
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