Political Maturity Quotes

If you're not a liberal at 20, you have no heart, and if you're not a conservative at 40, you have no brain.

One of the wiser clichés of the 20th century stated that if you aren’t a Communist before you are 21, there is something wrong with your heart. If you remain one after you are 21, there is something wrong with your head.

In a hundred years to come my people will not be fit for liberty. They do not know what it is….Despotism is the proper government for them.

Show me a young Conservative and I'll show you someone with no heart. Show me an old Liberal and I'll show you someone with no brains.

Belonging to one party is acceptable. But my days of just ticking the party box are long over. I judge the candidates for who they are.

It is very true that I threw up my cap for liberty with great ardor, and perfect sincerity, but very soon found the folly of it. A hundred years to come my people will not be fit for liberty. They do not know what it is, unenlightened as they are, and under the influence of a Catholic clergy, a despotism is the proper government for them, but there is no reason why it should not be a wise and virtuous one.

Chile has changed. The people have become more mature and they are more conscious of their rights. They want to participate and have a say about things such as if and where a power plant can be built.

I think Donald Trump should cool down a little bit. To pay more attention to the history. To really understand what U.S.'s value is about. I think, as a president, those things you always have to ask.

The presidential race should not be a battle of personalities.

The most important detail separating the West from the East is the existence of administrators who are able to give up power. Former presidents, prime ministers and deputies must be reconciled to leaving power.

The democrat is a young conservative; the conservative is an old democrat. The aristocrat is the democrat ripe and gone to seed.

Grow up, Donald Trump. Grow up. Time to be an adult. You're president. You've got to do something. Show us what you have.

Truth telling in politics is the mark of an inexperienced politician.

Not all countries are ready for it [democracy].

It is important to have a President who not only understands, but enjoys complexity

I pass the test that says a man who isn't a socialist at 20 has no heart, and a man who is a socialist at 40 has no head.

Democracy requires both discipline and hard work. It is not easy for individuals to govern themselves.... It is one thing to gain freedom, but no one can give you the right to self-government. This you must earn for yourself by long discipline.

Federalism, though it may be the most perfect [system] and the most capable of bringing happiness to human society, is nevertheless the most detrimental to the interests of our infant countries. Generally speaking our citizens are not yet able to exercise their rights fully and for themselves, because they lack the political virtues that charecterise true republics

I have never found a Federalist over the age of 30 who has ever changed his mind about politics.

I arrived in Hartford as a 25-year-old naive state legislator who believed in universal health care. I rose to become the 29-year-old Chairman of the legislature's Health Committee.

I don't know whether it's age or maturity, but I certainly find myself committed more and more to the looser forms of Western democracy at any price.

Previous candidates who get elected are almost always sobered by the office and the responsibility they take on. Donald Trump shows no evidence of that. He's the same Trump that he was when he was host of his reality TV show. He's the same Trump that he was when he was a candidate.

You cannot bring inexperienced men ... into the government and expect the government to run well.

Belize is not ready for self-government.

I always say the strength of democracy lies in criticism. If there is no criticism, that means there is no democracy. And if you want to grow, you must invite criticism. And I want to grow; I want to invite criticism.