Politics is a profession; a serious, complicated and, in its true sense, a noble one.

Politics is not a bad profession. If you succeed there are many rewards, if you disgrace yourself you can always write a book.

There’s a lot of fuss on the Left about election irregularities, like, you know, the voting machines were tampered with, they didn’t count the votes right, and so on. That’s all accurate and of some importance, but of far more importance is the fact that elections just don’t take place, not in any meaningful sense of the term ‚election.‘

Nothing doth more hurt in a state than that cunning men pass for wise.

In our age there is no such thing as ‚keeping out of politics.‘ All issues are political issues, and politics itself is a mass of lies, evasions, folly, hatred and schizophrenia.

The day-to-day making of policy is arguing all the time. You’re trying to get the right approach and the right answer, and there are moments that aren’t very pleasant. But in the end, you look at the overall product.

‚Via Dolorosa‘ is the only thing I have ever acted in my life, professionally, and I’ll never act again.

All my pictures are built around the idea of getting in trouble and so giving me the chance to be desperately serious in my attempt to appear as a normal little gentleman.

History reminds us that dictators and despots arise during times of severe economic crisis.

Among a people generally corrupt liberty cannot long exist.

Language is a weapon of politicians, but language is a weapon in much of human affairs.

Politics is the ability to foretell what is going to happen tomorrow, next week, next month and next year. And to have the ability afterwards to explain why it didn’t happen.

Politics are very much like war. We may even have to use poison gas at times.

The Chinese government wants me to say that for many centuries Tibet has been part of China. Even if I make that statement, many people would just laugh. And my statement will not change past history. History is history.

Capitalism is using its money; we socialists throw it away.

Propaganda is to a democracy what the bludgeon is to a totalitarian state.

We are all the President’s men.

A candidate is not going to suddenly change once they get into office. Just the opposite, in fact. Because the minute that individual takes that oath, they are under the hottest, harshest light there is. And there is no way to hide who they really are.

The spirit of this country is totally adverse to a large military force.

Of all the enemies of public liberty, war is perhaps the most to be dreaded, because it comprises and develops the germ of every other.

Finality is not the language of politics.

Most liberals think of civil liberties as their Achilles heel. It isn’t.

It is as hard and severe a thing to be a true politician as to be truly moral.

I loved being Secretary of State, that’s probably evident to everyone who watched me.

War against a foreign country only happens when the moneyed classes think they are going to profit from it.

Obama’s not Jesus. He can’t walk on water.

The government of Israel doesn’t like the kinds of things I say, which puts them into the same category as every other government in the world.

I have no further use for America. I wouldn’t go back there if Jesus Christ was President.

I personally never expected anything of Obama, and wrote about it before the 2008 primaries. I thought it was smoke and mirrors.

It is important that the United States remain a two-party system. I’m a fellow who likes small parties and the Republican Party can’t be too small to suit me.

I’m a singer, not a politician, and I think you don’t want the two to get confused. It’s not OK to be on CNN talking about people starving and then tell the interviewer that your new album is coming out in six months.

If we can boondoggle ourselves out of this depression, that word is going to be enshrined in the hearts of the American people for years to come.

I had just as much support from Republicans as I did Democrats when I ran for president. But I should have organized the Democratic Party to get me re-elected.

I’m the president of the United States. I’m not the emperor of the United States.

I know black people love the idea that we finally have a beautiful, good-looking black president. But if he is doing awful things to us, we should wake up.

There’s no doubt that usually a president’s public image is enhanced by going to war. That never did appeal to me.

The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.

Idealism is the noble toga that political gentlemen drape over their will to power.

There’s a tremendous gap between public opinion and public policy.

The right honourable gentleman caught the Whigs bathing, and walked away with their clothes. He has left them in the full enjoyment of their liberal positions, and he is himself a strict conservative of their garments.

My fellow Americans, I am pleased to tell you I just signed legislation which outlaws Russia forever. The bombing begins in five minutes.

Read my lips: no new taxes.

Part of the reason that our politics seems so tough right now and facts and science and argument does not seem to be winning the day all the time is because we’re hardwired not to always think clearly when we’re scared. And the country’s scared.

If you’re in business or politics, you need to have an intense understanding of what’s going on around you.

The most terrifying words in the English language are: I’m from the government and I’m here to help.

Politics, as a practise, whatever its professions, has always been the systematic organization of hatreds.

There’s only one person in this race who will be there, who’s always been there for you, and that’s Hillary Clinton’s life story.

The mark of a true politician is that he is never at a loss for words because he is always half-expecting to be asked to make a speech.

In a time of domestic crisis, men of goodwill and generosity should be able to unite regardless of party or politics.

Every time I hear a politician mention the word ‚stimulus,‘ my mind flashes back to high school biology class, when I touched battery wires to a dead frog to make it twitch.

Being president isn’t anything like reality TV. It’s not about sending insulting tweets or making fiery speeches; it’s about whether or not the candidate can handle the awesome responsibility of leading this country.

Practical politics consists in ignoring facts.

Fidel Castro, whatever people may think of him, is a hero in Latin America, primarily because he stood up to the United States.

Democracy is only a dream: it should be put in the same category as Arcadia, Santa Claus, and Heaven.

No Government can be long secure without a formidable Opposition.

We are not going to be satisfied by politicians saying ‚we support you‘ and then walking away. We won’t be satisfied until they meet our demands and act. That’s why simply taking a selfie or posting support on Twitter isn’t enough. That’s why we have to keep striking.

The Trump phenomenon is in large part a reaction of Middle America to attacks on its values by intellectual and academic communities. There are other reasons, but this is a significant one.

Honor is not the exclusive property of any political party.

The artist part of me always wants to be appreciated. I read every review. But I never wanted to seek validation by awards or anything controlled by politics.

For the first time in my adult lifetime, I am really proud of my country. And not just because Barack has done well, but because I think people are hungry for change. And I have been desperate to see our country moving in that direction.

A leader in the Democratic Party is a boss, in the Republican Party he is a leader.