Auberon Waugh Quotes

A politician's goal is always to manipulate public debate. I think there are some politicians with higher goals. But all of them get corrupted by power.

Wherever there is interest and power to do wrong, wrong will generally be done.

In order to obtain and hold power a man must love it. Thus the effort to get it is not likely to be coupled with goodness, but with the opposite qualities of pride, craft and cruelty.

Moral crusade: Public activity undertaken by middle-aged men who are cheating on their wives or diddling little boys. Moral crusades are particularly popular among those seeking power for their own personal pleasure, politicians who can't think of anything useful to do with their mandates, and religious professionals suffering from a personal inability to communicate with their god.

Occupants of public offices love power and are prone to abuse it.

The loggers are more powerful than we are …. There is bribery everywhere.

I never bought a man who wasn’t for sale.

Power confuses itself with virtue and tends also to take itself for omnipotence

Dictators have the power and funds to hire sycophants who encourage them in their delusions.

The mistakes (of leaders) are amplified by the numbers who follow them without question. Charismatic leaders tend to build up followings, power structures and these power structures tend to be taken over by people who are corruptible. I don't think that the old saw about 'power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely' is accurate: I think power attracts the corruptible.

Because I'm not blind to how Harry works, you know," she said. "A bully with a charisma and top marks is still a bully." She sighed, annoyed. "He'll probably end up Prime Minister one day. God help us all.

You know what kind of person it takes to run for President? Not normal. They could start out okay, but by the time they reach that level they've sold their soul to the devil so many times and stomped the guts out of enough people that they are definitely not like you and me, not even close.

Politicians are leeches, mostly.

Politicians will only exploit you for nothing.

I don't think 'Citizen Kane' stands more than one watch. Power corrupts. Who didn't know that?

All power in human hands is liable to be abused.

One of the problems in Washington is there are far too many politicians who desperately just want to get re-elected.

Tyranny may creep in under the outward forms of traditional law.

It's intrusive for grandparents to think they're in charge. It's manipulative. Also, it's self-destructive, since if the parents have to resist you, you won't get your mitts on the kid as often.

He who disguises tyranny, protection, or even benefits under the air and name of friendship reminds me of the guilty priest who poisoned the sacramental bread.

I hate what you represent." ... "Power without conviction." Isana replied, her tone lifeless, matter of fact. "Ambition without conscience. Decent folk suffer at the hands of those like you.

When extraordinary power and extraordinary pay are allotted to any individual in a government, he becomes the center, round which every kind of corruption generates and forms.

In real life, what scares me is politicians, corporations and people that think they know what the world should be.

When you chose independence over relationship, you became a danger to one another. Others became objects to be manipulated or managed for your own happiness. Authority as you usually think of it, is merely the excues the strone ones use to make others conform to what they want.

Patronage is almost a wicked word. By itself it could well-nigh defeat democracy.