Politics affects everything, whether you pay attention to it or not. These quotes cover power, democracy, partisanship, idealism, corruption, and the exhausting but essential work of trying to govern millions of people who disagree about nearly everything.
“In order to become the master, the politician poses as the servant.”
“I honestly believe that there's an element in this country, in our politics, that does not want to see a businessman succeed at getting the nomination for the Republican party, and does not want me to succeed at becoming President of the United States of America.”
“I'm not in politics.”
“But I don't need to use politics as a way of making money.”
“I never have been involved in politics.”
“It is better to be violent, if there is violence in our hearts, than to put on the cloak of nonviolence to cover impotence.”
“I haven't been very active in politics.”
“I just worry a lot. I'm a worrier. Michelle and Barack are really dear to me. I mean, I love them. And I don't want to see them get hurt. Just the nature of politics is hurtful. So every time they are hurt, I get hurt. It's a lot to ask of people, and it's a lot to see your friends go through. It's hard not to get emotional.”
“If you don't like the President, it costs you 90 bucks to fly to Washington to picket. If you don't like the Governor, it costs you 60 bucks to fly to Albany to picket. If you don't like me, 90 cents.”
“War should be the politics of last resort. And when we go to war, we should have a purpose that our people understand and support.”
“A war for a great principle ennobles a nation.”
“Whatever your supposed politics are - left, right - if you put it in a human connection, most people will rise to the occasion and feel the human pain in a way that they might not if it was presented in a more conceptual way.”
“Everyone wants to demagogue everyone else. That may be good politics, but it's awful policy.”
“Community organizing is all about building grassroots support. It's about identifying the people around you with whom you can create a common, passionate cause. And it's about ignoring the conventional wisdom of company politics and instead playing the game by very different rules.”
“Imagine a civilisation that's way in advance of us wants to communicate with us, and assist us in our development. The information we provide to them must reflect our highest aspirations and ideals, and not just be some crazy person's bizarre politics or religion.”
“I try not to spend too much time on partisan politics. Life's too short for that. I don't really believe that there have been many human problems solved by politics.”