A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always count on the support of Paul.

Politics is the art of the possible.

No free man shall be taken or imprisoned or dispossessed or outlawed or exiled, or in any way destroyed, nor will we go upon him, nor will we send against him except by the lawful judgment of his peers or by the law of the land.

The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure.

I shall be an autocrat: that’s my trade. And the good Lord will forgive me: that’s his.

Every country has the government it deserves.

I am no courtesan, nor moderator, nor tribune, nor defender of the people: I am myself the people.

It is a certain sign of a wise government and proceeding, when it can hold men’s hearts by hopes, when it cannot by satisfaction.

You have all the characteristics of a popular politician: a horrible voice, bad breeding, and a vulgar manner.

Whether for good or evil, it is sadly inevitable that all political leadership requires the artifices of theatrical illusion. In the politics of a democracy, the shortest distance between two points is often a crooked line.

Television has made dictatorship impossible, but democracy unbearable.

Politics is the art of preventing people from taking part in affairs which properly concern them.

I say violence is necessary. It is as American as cherry pie.