Quotes on Politics

I think we have more machinery of government than is necessary, too many parasites living on the labor of the industrious.

Life without industry is guilt, and industry without art is brutality.

Party honesty is party expediency.

A tool is but the extension of a man's hand, and a machine is but a complex tool. And he that invents a machine augments the power of a man and the well-being of mankind.

When all is said and done, and statesmen discuss the future of the world, the fact remains that people fight these wars.

They say that women talk too much. If you have worked in Congress you know that the filibuster was invented by men.

Fleas can be taught nearly anything a congressman can.

I am never going to have anything more to do with politics or politicians. When this war is over I shall confine myself entirely to writing and painting.

If the Almighty were to rebuild the world and asked me for advice, I would have English Channels round every country. And the atmosphere would be such that anything which attempted to fly would be set on fire.

Nothing in life is so exhilarating as to be shot at without result.

A politician needs the ability to foretell what is going to happen tomorrow, next week, next month, and next year. And to have the ability afterwards to explain why it didn't happen.

I'd rather have a German Division in front of me than a French one behind.

The test of political institutions is the condition of the country whose future they regulate.

In order to master the unruly torrent of life the learned man meditates, the poet quivers, and the political hero erects the fortress of his will.

The cornerstones of this country's operation are economic and political strength and power. The black man doesn't have the economic strength - and it will take time for him to build it. But right now the American black man has the political strength and power to change his destiny overnight.

He has sat on the fence so long that the iron has entered his soul.

The two maxims of any great man at court are, always to keep his countenance, and never to keep his word.

Politics is the art of making your selfish desires seem like the national interest.

The opposition is indispensable. A good statesman, like any other sensible human being, always learns more from his opposition than from his fervent supporters.

The trouble with this country is that there are too many politicians who believe, with a conviction based on experience, that you can fool all of the people all of the time.

The uniformity and obedience of the media, which any dictator would admire...