Presidential ambition is a disease that can only be cured by embalming fluid.
Interpretation
John McCain criticizes the unhealthy obsession with presidential ambition, suggesting it's detrimental to the person pursuing it.
This quote by John McCain reflects a cynical view of the relentless pursuit of presidential power, comparing it to a disease that consumes individuals. It implies that those who are overly ambitious in seeking the presidency may lose their moral compass and humanity, and that the only way to end such ambition is through a fatal conclusion, symbolized by 'embalming fluid'. This presents a stark warning against the dangers of unchecked political aspiration.
In practice
This quote can be used in a political debate to highlight the negative aspects of political ambition.
Giap was a master of logistics, but his reputation rests on more than that. His victories were achieved by a patient strategy that he and Ho Chi Minh were convinced would succeed - an unwavering resolve to suffer immense casualties and the near total destruction of their country to defeat any adversary, no matter how powerful.
Whenever America sends its citizens into harm's way, it must do so with eyes wide open.
For decades we have been living lives of abundance, with little regard for our natural resources or global health. But we are now facing hard choices in our energy policy. Future generations - my children and grandchildren, along with yours - will have to live with the decisions we make today. And so it is time for us to make some tough and - hopefully - smart choices regarding our energy use and production before it is too late.
We need a free press. We must have it. It's vital.
I appreciate our government's determination to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death of the Bytyqi brothers, which Serbia's Interior Minister has rightly called 'an exceptionally serious crime,' and hope the Serbian government's pledge of full cooperation... is matched by a final accounting of their murder.
What is most troubling about Mr. Putin's aggression in Crimea is that it reflects a growing disregard for America's credibility in the world. That has emboldened other aggressive actors - from Chinese nationalists to Al Qaeda terrorists and Iranian theocrats.
Dr Urbino did not agree: in his opinion a Liberal president was exactly the same as a Conservative president, but not as well dressed.
By union the smallest states thrive. By discord the greatest are destroyed.
We live in very volatile times. And it is super necessary that all of us resist this move toward the militarization and establishment of a more and more authoritarian regime, not just in the United States but in Europe and elsewhere.
You can't just have slogans, you can't just have catchy phrases. You have to have an agenda. And I think what the Republican Party has to do, if it's going to incorporate the tea party efforts in it, is to come up with an agenda that the American people can see, touch, and actually believe in, and something they believe in.
The Senate has been debased to the level of a forum of hate and character assassination sheltered by the shield of congressional immunity.
When Paris sneezes, Europe catches a cold.
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