Jon Meacham Quotes

Politicians can’t just point to problems. They need to propose solutions.

I have come to the conclusion that politics are too serious a matter to be left to the politicians.

There's lots about politics I don't feel comfortable with. To talk about the politics of future ideas is impossible in soundbite form.

In politics it's very dangerous to have a philosophy. In a democracy you should have politicians who settle the problems that exist, not who set out to prove philosophical ideals.

That is what politics is really about—reality and not image.

It was easy for Sanford to have a bully pulpit as governor. It's another thing to be in the trenches, having to face leadership, and say, 'No, that's not a conservative position, that's not what we're doing.'

If we treated politics like more of a profession, like it should be, we would all be a lot better off.

No, you see, unlike some interviewers, I love politics... overall I am not anti-politicians at all. I recognise they are more important than me.

Political books are so often written from the perspective of the politicians, not from the point of view of the people.

Some fine men are in Congress, too few, trying to do a responsible job. But they are surrounded and almost neutralized by a greater number whose instinct is to make a deal before they make a decision.

Scholars who become politicians are usually assigned the comic role of having to be the good conscience of state policy.

Political authorities should lead the way and not lag behind [public opinion].

He serves his party best who helps to make it instantly responsive to every need of the people.

We follow ideas and not men, and rebel against this habit of embodying a principle in a man

Politicians are not the most reflective people in the world.

Whenever I had to make a difficult decision as a Congressman, I thoud think about the average citisen in my Congressional districr and how he would advise me if he knew everythign I knew about the issue.

My respect for politicians has increased. It's hard work - even hard physical work.

Political life is like this - elections go back and forth. Representative democracy can only be successful if one sits down and says, 'That's it. I will connect myself,' - as I did - 'connect my existence to a political project.' Then you automatically have in your party a lot of people who say, 'If that fails, so do I'.

I know ideals aren't realities, but they do influence reality - social, legal, political, cultural.

I've always championed women in politics. We just get stuck in; politics isn't a game. The decisions we make affect people's lives, and that is something we must all keep to the forefront of our minds.

I go everywhere in the state and I listen to Montanans, whether it's in conservative areas or liberal areas, and take those ideas back to Washington, D.C., and put them into action.

I think politicians get hamstrung by the nature of politics when the private sector can really do great things.

I went into politics on an emotional level and soon realised that emotion has nothing to do with politics.

I have a track record of going out and talking to my constituents and then standing up and representing them. That's what people want.

What gets you out of bed in the morning? This is a question I'm often asked as a politician. It tends to be closely followed by a dozen other questions about what I'll do in 'x' scenario or whether I'll resign if 'y' happens.