John Dean Quotes
We have a cancer within, close to the Presidency, that is growing. It is growing daily.
John Dean, Counselor to the President (Republican), White House Watergate Tapes Transcript, 1974
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
He warns particularly of politicians who believe their own lies.
Lincoln was not above personal attacks on the opposition:
Harry Hopkins was the special assistant to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt through the two great American crises, the Great Depression and World War II. Although he was a social worker with not a shred of political experience, Hopkins was originally selected by the President to operate the national relief program in the midst of the Great Depression. Soon he had spent more money than any human being in history without a taint of scandal. He had never been elected nor was he even ratified by the Senate. He also paid virtually no attention to members of Congress as he became the most successful manager in American Government history. Soon he became FDR’s most important aid. Then he and his wife actually moved into the White House and lived there with the Roosevelts and was a favorite of not only FDR but Eleanor Roosevelt as well. When WWII began the leading military and diplomatic leaders advised the President not to provide military aid to England or Russia believing that these countries could not hold out and the weapons would fall into German hands and be used against American soldiers. Roosevelt sent Hopkins to Europe to assess the military situation despite the fact that he had never had a single day of military experience. When his war advice contradicted that of the leading generals and admirals, many people were scandalized, especially when FDR took Hopkin’s advice above that of the generals and diplomats. Massive assistance was sent to those countries and indeed both were able to hold out just as Hopkins had predicted. No one in American politics before or since had that much influence or power. Most historians see that particular phenomenon as a unique combination of two extraordinary men at an extraordinary time and virtually impossible to replicate.
Samuel Langhorne Clemens, 1835-1910
John Wesley Dean III is a former attorney who served as White House Counsel for United States President Richard Nixon from July 1970 until April 1973. Dean is known for his role in the cover-up of the Watergate scandal and his subsequent testimony to Congress as a witness. His guilty plea to a single felony in exchange for becoming a key witness for the prosecution ultimately resulted in a reduced sentence, which he served at Fort Holabird outside Baltimore, Maryland. After his plea, he was disbarred as an attorney. According to the FBI, Dean was the "master manipulator" of the Watergate affair.
