Politics Quotes
The list of top contributors is odd: Benito Mussolini has the most entries, then Disraeli, with a Nigerian governor, Bernard Crick and Jean Chrétien behind them. It reflects what Wikiquote editors chose to collect, not a ranking of who said it best.
The better-sourced lines are drier. Edmund Burke, in 1770, dismissed the cant of “Not men, but measures.” Stanisław Jerzy Lec’s Unkempt Thoughts (1957) has the shortest joke on the page, “a Trojan horse race.” Bierce’s Devil’s Dictionary (1911) calls politics a strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles.
Three well-known lines are flagged misattributed: “Politics is the art of the possible” (Franklin), a remark about playing your cards face upwards (H. G. Wells), and “politics have no relation to morals” (Machiavelli).
Who, born for the universe, narrow'd his mind,
And to party gave up what was meant for mankind.
Politics should be the part-time profession of every citizen.
Politics is a fascinating game, because politics is government. It is the art of government.
POLITICS, n. The conduct of public affairs for private advantage.
PRESIDENCY, n. The greased pig in the field game of American politics.
Politics: the art of convincing decent people to forget the lesser of two evils is also evil.