...as long as mankind shall continue to bestow more liberal applause on their destroyers than on their benefactors, the thirst read more

...as long as mankind shall continue to bestow more liberal applause on their destroyers than on their benefactors, the thirst of military glory will ever be the vice of the most exalted characters.

An ambassador is not simply an agent; he is also a spectacle.

An ambassador is not simply an agent; he is also a spectacle.

Necessity is the plea of every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed read more

Necessity is the plea of every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves.

The successful politician owes his power to the fact that he moves within the accepted framework of thought, that he read more

The successful politician owes his power to the fact that he moves within the accepted framework of thought, that he thinks and talks conventionally. It would be almost a contradiction in terms for a politician to be a leader in the field of ideas. His task in a democracy is to find out what the opinions held by the largest number are, not to give currency to new opinions which may become the majority view in some distant future.

He too serves a certain purpose who only stands and cheers.

He too serves a certain purpose who only stands and cheers.

I'm going to be a vice president very much like George Bush was. He proved to be a very effective read more

I'm going to be a vice president very much like George Bush was. He proved to be a very effective vice president, perhaps the most effective we've had in a couple of hundred years.

No matter that patriotism is too often the refuge of scoundrels. Dissent, rebellion, and all-around hell-raising remain the true duty read more

No matter that patriotism is too often the refuge of scoundrels. Dissent, rebellion, and all-around hell-raising remain the true duty of patriots.

Every device employed to bolster individual freedom must have as its chief purpose the impairment of the absoluteness of power. read more

Every device employed to bolster individual freedom must have as its chief purpose the impairment of the absoluteness of power. The indications are that such an impairment is brought about not by strengthening the individual and pitting him against the possessors of power, but by distributing and diversifying power and pitting one category or unit of power against the other. Where power is one, the defeated individual, however strong and resourceful, can have no refuge and no recourse.

Power corrupts. Absolute power is kind of neat.

Power corrupts. Absolute power is kind of neat.