In politics, merit is rewarded by the possessor being raised, like a target, to a position to be fired at.
Politics Quotes
I mean to live my life an obedient man, but obedient to God, subservient to the wisdom of my ancestors; never to the authority of political truths arrived at yesterday at the voting booth.
Politician, n. An eel in the fundamental mud upon which the superstructure of organized society is reared. When he wriggles, he mistakes the agitation of his tail for the trembling of the edifice.
To live long in politics you must possess the hide of a rhinoceros, the memory of an elephant, the persistence of a beaver, the native friendliness of a mongrel pup. You need the heart of a lion, and the stomach of an ostrich. And it helps to have the humor and ubiquity of a crow. […]
You begin saving the world by saving one person at a time; all else is grandiose romanticism or politics.
Politics, n. A strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles. The conduct of public affairs for private advantage.
The most important political office is that of private citizen.
I possessed not one of the qualities, not cultivated one of the arts, that recommend men to the favor and protection of the great. I was not made for a minion or a fool. As little did I follow the trade of winning the hearts, by imposing on the understandings of the people.
Populist, n. A fossil patriot of the early agricultural period, found in the old red soapstone underlying Kansas.
Politics are usually the executive expression of human immaturity.
