Only one thing to it: a strong stomach. The guts to gladhand a man you're going to stab in the back; pledge allegiance to principles you stomp on every day; righteously denounce some despot in the press and sell him arms under the table. The talent to whip up the voters' worst passions while you seem to call on their highest instincts, and the sense to stay wrapped in the flag. That's politics: I'll take the simple life. .Anonymous
About This Quote
The above quote is a description of politics as a career. In politics, you must be strong and dedicated if you wish to succeed. You cannot make a career out of posturing and grandstanding. You must go through the process of being elected and then being dedicated to the people who elected you.
In your public life, you have to be able to stand up for what you believe in and then work within the system to do so. In this sense, his quote is a reminder that most successful politicians are those who commit themselves fully to their careers.
Source: The Marriage Of Figaro (Le Nozze Di Figaro): Vocal Score
Some Similar Quotes
- I don't care a damn about men who are loyal to the people who pay them, to organizations... I don't think even my country means all that much. There are many countries in our blood, aren't there, but only one person. Would the world be...
- I can see how it might be possible for a man to look down upon the earth and be an atheist, but I cannot conceive how a man could look up into the heavens and say there is no God.
- Civilized men are more discourteous than savages because they know they can be impolite without having their skulls split, as a general thing.
- In my many years I have come to a conclusion that one useless man is a shame, two is a law firm, and three or more is a congress.
- You know what's truly weird about any financial crisis? We made it up. Currency, money, finance, they're all social inventions. When the sun comes up in the morning it's shining on the same physical landscape, all the atoms are in place.