My people and I have come to an agreement that satisfies us both. They are to say what they please, and I am to do what I please.

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

Politics, n. A strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles. The conduct of public affairs for private advantage.

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.

O citizens, first acquire wealth; you can practice virtue afterward.

Let him who desires peace prepare for war.

The affairs of the world are no more than so much trickery, and a man who toils for money or honor or whatever else in deference to the wishes of others, rather than because his own desire or needs lead him to do so, will always be a fool.

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

Television has made dictatorship impossible, but democracy unbearable.

It is impossible to tell which of the two dispositions we find in men is more harmful in a republic, that which seeks to maintain an established position or that which has none but seeks to acquire it.

I work for a government I despise for ends I think criminal.

The more corrupt the republic, the more numerous the laws.

The vice presidency isn’t worth a pitcher of warm piss.