Jack McDevitt Quotes

Politics and acting are very closely tied. The job is to convince.

You listen to a politician making a speech, and it is like hearing nothing. Whereas, music is unmistakably music. The thing about music is that nobody listens to it unless it's real. I don't think that you can fool anybody for too long in music. And you certainly can't fool everybody.

All politicians are to some extent salesmen.

People [in politics] do go on and talk.

Truth is not so threadbare as speech, because fewer people can make use of it.

Politics is made up largely of irrelevancies.

A lot of times in politics you have people look you in the eye and tell you what's not on their mind.

Interviewing people is pretty natural for me.

I think the truth is always interesting, but with politicians, you don't get to see much of that.

Modern political speechwriting is certainly a skill, and one that requires experience and practice to master.

I do like talk shows. I'm interested in talking to people.

Truthful words are not beautiful; beautiful words are not truthful. Good words are not persuasive; persuasive words are not good.

I can talk a lot and not reveal anything; I would make a great politician.

In politics, not all lies are all lies. And not all truths are complete.

Improvising political dialogue is not easy.

Politicians are better liars than writers.

Modern political speechwriting is not a high-minded pursuit for brilliant talents.

I think almost every political leader is always told that the next speech they make is the most crucial one.

In argument, truth always prevails finally; in politics, falsehood always.

I think people involved in politics make good actors. Acting and politics both involve fooling people. People like being fooled by actors. When you get right down to it, they probably like being fooled by politicians even more. A skillful actor will make you think, but a skillful politician will make you never have to think.

Washington could not tell a lie; Nixon could not tell the truth; Reagan cannot tell the difference.

He warns the heads of parties against believing their own lies

No politician has ever been defeated by a speech he didn’t give.

When a majority could benefit only its enemies by telling the truth, history shows that honorable men often preferred to tell what is untrue.

The connection between humbug and politics is too long established to be challenged.