Quotes on Politics

I happen to think that American politics is one of the noblest arts of mankind; and I cannot do anything else but write about it.

Politics is the entertainment branch of industry.

An empty stomach is not a good political adviser.

The artist part of me always wants to be appreciated. I read every review. But I never wanted to seek validation by awards or anything controlled by politics.

Politics in America is the binding secular religion.

Millions of innocent men, women and children, since the introduction of Christianity, have been burnt, tortured, fined and imprisoned; yet we have not advanced one inch towards uniformity. What has been the effect of coercion? To make one half the world fools, and the other half hypocrites. To support roguery and error all over the earth.

The purpose of getting power is to be able to give it away.

A man who wishes to make a profession of goodness in everything must necessarily come to grief among so many who are not good. Therefore, it is necessary for a prince, who wishes to maintain himself, to learn how not to be good, and to use this knowledge and not use it according to the necessity of the case.

In a democracy, dissent is an act of faith.

We have the power to do any damn fool thing we want to do, and we seem to do it about every ten minutes.

A good politician is quite as unthinkable as an honest burglar.

How can you govern a country which has 246 varieties of cheese?

The best executive is one who has sense enough to pick good people to do what he wants done, and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it.

In every age its (liberty's) progress has been beset by its natural enemies, by ignorance and superstition, by lust of conquest and by love of ease, by the strong man's craving for power, and the poor man's craving for food

I love power. But it is as an artist that I love it. I love it as a musician loves his violin, to draw out its sounds and chords and harmonies.

I am not a member of any organized political party. I am a Democrat.

Ask a man which way he is going to vote, and he will probably tell you. Ask him, however, why, and vagueness is all.

A statesman... must wait until he hears the steps of God sounding through events, then leap up and grasp the hem of His garment.

The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly, is to fill the world with fools.

A great nation is any mob of people which produces at least one honest man a century.

Anything important is never left to the vote of the people. We only get to vote on some man; we never get to vote on what he is to do.