Otto von Bismarck Quotes
No one, not even the most malicious democrat, can form a conception of the charlatanism and self-importance of our assembled diplomacy [the Prussian parliament].
Prince Otto von Bismarck-Schoenhausen, 1815-1898, German Chancellor, Letter to his wife, October, 1851
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
Commenting on the Senate debate over the confirmation of John Tower as Secretary of Defense, where the nominee was accused of being a womanizer and a heavy drinker:
This is an important quotation because it was believed by most of the Founding Fathers and the American public until relatively recently. Presidential candidates would not think of publicly campaigning. The view was that anyone who was ambitious for power and authority should not be trusted with it. The idea was first stated by Plato and has been a major view of Western politics since. Many still believe it, but no one has come up with a practical alternative in a large jurisdiction where there is no way to know about the possible candidates without their initiative. Earlier American presidential candidates, although they did not campaign as we know it, got associates to do their campaigning for them. At Presidential nominating conventions, candidates would not even attend. Abraham Lincoln for example never attended the convention at which he got nominated, but he had associates lining up delagates and he was managing their efforts behind the scenes.
Kerry had just finished a formal presentation, and thought that the microphones he was wearing had all been removed. Some opponents accuse him of knowing that he was overheard by live mikes.
Cleopatra was not just a woman ruling between male dynasties, but a brilliant and able politician, tactician, and military leader. She was descended from Alexander the Great’s Macedonian General Ptolomy who inherited Egypt upon Alexander’s death. By all accounts she was an amazing leader irrespective of gender. But she also used her sexuality very powerfully. Her language skill was remarkable; she was actually the first of the line of Ptolemy rulers of Egypt who actually spoke and read Egyptian. Of course she was also fluent in Greek and Latin as well as all the “Barbarian” languages.
Otto, Prince of Bismarck, Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen, Duke of Lauenburg[a] (born Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck; 1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898) was a conservative German statesman who masterminded the unification of Germany in 1871 and served as its first chancellor until 1890, in which capacity he dominated European affairs for two decades. He had previously been Minister President of Prussia (1862–1890) and Chancellor of the North German Confederation (1867–1871). He provoked three short, decisive wars, against Denmark, Austria, and France. Following the victory against Austria, he abolished the supranational German Confederation and instead formed the North German Confederation as the first German national state, aligning the smaller North German states behind Prussia, and excluding Austria. Receiving the support of the independent South German states in the Confederation's defeat of France, he formed the German Empire – which also excluded Austria – and united Germany.
