James F. Clarke Quotes

A politician thinks of the next election; the statesman thinks of the next generation

Politicians all too often think about the next election. Statesmen think about the next generation.

The difference between a politician and a statesman is that a politician thinks about the next election while the statesman think about the next generation

You don’t become a statesman unless you are first a good politician.

No man can be a politician except he be first a historian.

While not all politicians are statesmen, all statesmen are politicians.

A politician is a person with whose politics you don't agree; if you agree with him, he is a statesman.

Of all our public men of today he stands first in my reverence & admiration, & the next one stands two-hundred-&-twenty-fifth. He is the only statesman we have now. ... Cleveland drunk is a more valuable asset to this country than the whole batch of the rest of our public men sober. He is high-minded; all his impulses are great & pure & fine. I wish we had another of this sort.

It's time to put country ahead of party. It's time to put the next generation ahead of the next election.

A politician is a fellow who will lay down your life for his country.

There are too many politicians in the world and too few statesmen.

A politician is a statesman who approaches every question with an open mouth.

A politician is a man who understands government. A statesman is a politician who's been dead for 15 years.

I loved politics and, I confess, I enjoyed politicians immensely.

Politicians are wither very good at running for office or they are good at running government. Seldom are the two found together.

A statesman is a politician who’s been dead ten or fifteen years.

The distinction between a statesman and a politician is that the former imposes his will and his ideas on his environment while the latter adopts himself to it.

Government is not for the short-winded.

Unfortunately we are politicians when we should be statesmen.

What Republicans have to get away from is just worrying about the next election and start thinking about what is good for the country down the road.

If a statesman is one who looks to the next generation and a politician one who looks to the next election, a political consultant must be one who looks to the next tracking poll.

I think we can do better with our politicians. I think I'd make a good one, because I like people.

The two most charming politicians who stand out are Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Pranab Mukherjee.

A politician is a man who understands government, and it takes a politician to run a government. A statesman is a politician who's been dead 10 or 15 years.

If more politicians in this country were thinking about the next generation instead of the next election, it might be better for the United States and the world.