Imelda May Quotes

There is a temptation in politics to look for simplistic slogans and to play the game in a way that looks like you're a savvy politician.

Today being President is really no different than running for President. It’s about approval ratings and photo ops and damage control and deniability.

Sometimes, political campaigns make decent people act and talk like perfect buffoons.

In politics you learn to always smile.

Sometimes heads of state have to make statements for [local] public consumption.

The real secret about diplomats is that we're trained to say something, when there is nothing to say, and to say nothing when there is something to say.

'No comment' is a splendid expression. I am using it again and again.

There's something just so kind of smooth about politicians.

I've gotten to believe it's more fun to play politicians than actually be them.

The permanent campaign is inherently deceptive.

I should learn the language of a politician - give away as little and keep the rest to yourself. Not lie, I just want to be more guarded.

The politician must always tell people what they want to hear.

Politics is the business of managing perceptions.

You'd make a great Secretary of State because State Department personnel don't answer questions completely either.

Twenty five years in Washington has taught me never to tell a lie to a reporter.

[Politics in America is:] A chess tournament disguised as a circus.

You can't be a public affairs specialist if you're actually working on the public's affairs.

The “cant” of the politician, like the cant of the “religious” man, is also protean in its guise, but its chief method is to explain away words. The politician can always show you that he didn’t mean what he says, but something rather different from what he says. Political cant consists in pretending to agreement with hearers, whoever they may be. This cant is part of the stock-in-trade of every politician, be he Tory, Whig, or Radical, and it is by its means that he tries to haul in stray votes.

By exploiting envy and fear, politicians can portray themselves as the saviors and protectors of the public — doing and saying whatever is necessary to gain the support needed to remain in power.

Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.

You should not make specific pledges either to the Senate or to the People. Stick to vague generalities.

Abraham Lincoln is the most shut-mouthed man who ever lived. He always tells only enough of his plans and purpose to induce the belief that he had communicated all.

In general, I think it's an advantage politically to keep people guessing.

The king is so subtle with his words that he would confound the apostolic religion itself. He will find the weak points of the pope's character and will trip him up to his destruction.

Politics is a lot like acting. You have to be on all the time.