The politician who never made a mistake never made a decision.
—John Major (b.1943) British Head of State
In argument, truth always prevails finally; in politics, falsehood always.
—Walter Savage Landor (1775–1864) English Writer, Poet
Successful democratic politicians are insecure and intimidated men. They advance politically only as they placate, appease, bribe, seduce, bamboozle, or otherwise manage to manipulate the demanding and threatening elements in their constituencies. The decisive consideration is not whether the proposition is good but whether it is popular—not whether it will work well and prove itself but whether the active talking constituents like it immediately. Politicians rationalize this servitude by saying that in a democracy public men are the servants of the people.
—Walter Lippmann (1889–1974) American Journalist, Political Commentator
Politics is not an exact science.
—Otto von Bismarck (1815–98) German Chancellor, Prime Minister
Any 20 year-old who isn’t a liberal doesn’t have a heart, and any 40 year-old who isn’t a conservative doesn’t have a brain.
—Winston Churchill (1874–1965) British Leader, Historian, Journalist, Author
It has been said that politics is the second oldest profession. I have learned that it bears a striking resemblance to the first.
—Ronald Reagan (1911–2004) American Head of State
I find myself… hoping a total end of all the unhappy divisions of mankind by party-spirit, which at best is but the madness of many for the gain of a few.
—Alexander Pope (1688–1744) English Poet
In our time political speech and writing are largely the defense of the indefensible.
—George Orwell (1903–50) English Novelist, Journalist
I am invariably of the politics of the people at whose table I sit, or beneath whose roof I sleep.
—George Borrow (1803–81) English Writer, Traveler
Politicians are people who, when they see light at the end of the tunnel, go out and buy some more tunnel.
—Quintilian (c.35–c.100 CE) Roman Rhetorician, Literary Critic
Idealism is the noble toga that political gentlemen drape over their will to power.
—Aldous Huxley (1894–1963) English Humanist, Pacifist, Satirist, Short Story Writer
The Empress is legitimate, my cousin is Republican, Morny is Orleanist, I am a socialist; the only Bonapartist is Persigny, and he is mad.
—Napoleon I (1769–1821) Emperor of France
Religion is organized to satisfy and guide the soul—politics does the same thing for the body.
—Joyce Cary (1888–1957) English Novelist, Artist
If experience teaches us anything at all, it teaches us this: that a good politician, under democracy, is quite as unthinkable as an honest burglar.
—H. L. Mencken (1880–1956) American Journalist, Literary Critic
Politics doesn’t make strange bedfellows, marriage does.
—Groucho Marx (1890–1977) American Actor, Comedian, Singer
Ninety percent of the politicians give the other ten percent a bad reputation.
—Henry Kissinger (1923–2023) American Diplomat, Academician
The work of the political activist inevitably involves a certain tension between the requirement that position be taken on current issues as they arise and the desire that one’s contributions will somehow survive the ravages of time.
—Angela Davis (b.1944) American Political Activist, Academic
Politics is perhaps the only profession for which no preparation is thought necessary.
—Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–94) Scottish Novelist
Those who corrupt the public mind are just as evil as those who steal from the public purse.
—Adlai Stevenson (1900–65) American Diplomat, Politician, Orator
Ninety percent of politics is deciding whom to blame.
—Meg Greenfield (1930–99) American Editor, Journalist, Socialite
The mistake a lot of politicians make is in forgetting they’ve been appointed and thinking they’ve been anointed.
—Claude Pepper (1900–89) American Politician
If everybody in this town connected with politics had to leave town because of chasing women and drinking, you would have no government.
—Barry Goldwater (1909–98) American Politician, Businessperson, Representative
Politics are for foreigners with their endless wrongs and paltry rights. Politics are a lousy way to get things done. Politics are, like God’s infinite mercy, a last resort.
—P. J. O’Rourke (1947–2022) American Journalist, Political Satirist
Politics is a place of humble hopes and strangely modest requirements, where all are good who are not criminal and all are wise who are not ridiculously otherwise.
—Frank Moore Colby (1865–1925) American Encyclopedia Editor, Essayist
In politics… never retreat, never retract… never admit a mistake.
—Napoleon I (1769–1821) Emperor of France
You have to have been a Republican to know how good it is to be a Democrat.
—Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (1929–94 ) American First Lady
Half a truth is better than no politics.
—G. K. Chesterton (1874–1936) English Journalist, Novelist, Essayist, Poet
Since a politician never believes what he says, he is surprised when others believe him.
—Charles de Gaulle (1890–1970) French General, Statesman
A constitutional statesman is in general a man of common opinions and uncommon abilities.
—Walter Bagehot (1826–77) English Economist, Journalist
Once you run for office, you’re in it—sort of like going into the military. You’d better be damned sure it is what you want to do and that the rest of your life is set up to accommodate that. It takes a certain toll on your personality and on your family life. I’ve seen it personally.
—John F. Kennedy Jr. (1960–99) American Magazine Publisher, Lawyer
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