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We need more of the Office Desk and less of the Show Window in politics. Let men in office substitute the midnight oil for the limelight.
CALVIN COOLIDGE, Have Faith in Massachusetts
When a man assumes a public trust, he should consider himself as public property.
THOMAS JEFFERSON, attributed, The Quotable Founding Fathers
Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, Religion and morality are indispensable supports.
GEORGE WASHINGTON, Farewell Address to the people of the United States, Sep. 17, 1796
I do not believe that any work of art can help but be diminished by its adherence at any cost to a political program ... and not for any other reason than that there is no political program -- any more than there is a theory of tragedy -- which can encompass the complexities of real life.
ARTHUR MILLER, Introduction to Collected Plays
Maybe the critics are right. Maybe there's no escaping our great political divide, an endless clash of armies, and any attempts to alter the rules of engagement are futile. Or maybe the trivialization of politics has reached a point of no return, so that most people see it as just one more diversion, a sport, with politicians our paunch-bellied gladiators and those who bother to pay attention just fans on the sidelines: We paint our faces red or blue and cheer our side and boo their side, and if it takes a late hit or cheap shot to beat the other team, so be it, for winning is all that matters. But I don't think so.
BARACK OBAMA, The Audacity of Hope
It is a maxim, founded on the universal experience of mankind, that no nation is to be trusted farther than it is bound by its interest; and no prudent statesman or politician will venture to depart from it.
GEORGE WASHINGTON, letter to Henry Laurens, Nov. 14, 1778
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