William Safire Quotes

We have, I fear, confused power with greatness.

I do understand power, whatever else may be said about me. I know where to look for it and how to use it.

To be frank, politics is about wanting power, getting it, exercising it, and keeping it.

I don't care about keeping seats of power.

I like being powerful. I hope it doesn't go to my head. If somebody's going to have it, it might just as soon be me. There's always power, and it's just a matter of in whose hands it falls.

To know the pains of power, we must go to those who have it; to know its pleasures, we must go to those who are seeking it: the pains of power are real, its pleasures imaginary.

Power is the measure of the degree of control you have over circumstances in your life and the actions of the people around you. It is a skill that is developed by a deep understanding of human nature, of what truly motivates people, and of the manipulations necessary for advancement and protection.

It's better to be known as a puppet than pretend not to be a puppet like Nawaz Sharif.

There is a paradox in politics that what it takes to get elected is not necessarily what it takes to govern, and my feeling is that trying to control things too much feels icky to me.

Putin is very - not the smartest guy in the world.

I never say someone is powerful.

I'm not capable of being in a group where I'm not the leader. I did it once earlier in my career with Legacy, and that was cool because I was young and green and a rookie in the industry, but now no more.

I got a boss mentality.

You have to be a leader with a vision, and you have to show Iowans that you want it... and not just a woman.

I am in politics. Here, it is not possible to know everyone around you. How can I take responsibility for all those who support me or work for me or simply hang around me?

Politics, to Ariel Sharon, was like a Ferris wheel. But he didn't make do with just staying on the wheel; he did all he could to climb to the top and stay there.

To be prime minister, you need to fight many entities, you need to be very determined. It's not going to fall in your lap.

I have no interest in the trappings of power.

Steve Bannon puts himself above everything.

Veterans tend to want to be ultra-prepared. They want to know everything they possibly can before running for Congress. That's great... but don't undersell yourself.

I'm stunned at the amount of young women who get in touch with me every single day, trying to become somebody like me. As a teenager, I would never have done that. And I was someone who was interested in politics. But I wouldn't have emailed the local MP.

Men in power are always interested in greater power.

You have to be either naive or power-hungry to get into politics. I wouldn't consider it myself. I am too well-informed.

I'm told [ Zulfikar Ali] Bhutto is ambitious. I hope he's very ambitious; ambition may help him see reality.

As soon as politicians start climbing up the ladder, they suddenly become kings. I don't know how it works, but what I do know is that republics came to the world to make sure that no one is more than anyone else. The pomp of office is like something left over from a feudal past: "You need a palace, red carpet, a lot of people behind you saying, 'Yes, sir.' I think all of that is awful."