“A typical vice of American politics — the avoidance of saying anything real on real issues, and the announcement of radical policies with much sound and fury, and at the same time with a cautious accompaniment of weasel phrases each of which sucks the meat out of the preceding statement.”

— Theodore Roosevelt

"Platform Insincerity" in The Outlook, Vol. 101, No. 13 (27 July 1912), p. 660
1910s

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Theodore Roosevelt 445

American politician, 26th president of the United States 1858–1919

Henry M. Morris (1918–2006) American young earth creationist and Christian apologist

Biblical Cosmology and Modern Science, 1982, p. 33

“I don’t think that a statement like this, issued saying that his ‘choice of words was not the best,’ changes anything.”

Sandra Fluke (1981) American women's rights activist and lawyer

The View interview with Sandra Fluke. ABC. March 5, 2012. — cited in The Washington Post, Lisa, de Moraes, Sandra Fluke sits down with the ladies of ‘The View’, The Washington Post Company, March 8, 2012, March 5, 2012 http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/tv-column/post/sandra-fluke-sits-down-for-first-tv-interview-on-the-view/2012/03/05/gIQAdPJUtR_blog.html,
Media interviews

“Why doesn't policy-relevant work seem to conflict with my "real" research? I think that it's because I have been able to approach policy issues using almost exactly the same method that I use in my more basic work.”

Paul Krugman (1953) American economist

How I Work (1993)

“Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.”

Steven Wright (1955) American actor and author

“There is no expedient to which a man will not resort to avoid the real labor of thinking.”

Joshua Reynolds (1723–1792) English painter, specialising in portraits

Quoted in Time magazine December 8, 1930
Other

“To avoid starting out on the wrong foot we must keep in mind, then, that (a) the democratic ideal does not define the democratic reality and, vice versa, a real democracy is not, and cannot be, the same as an ideal one; and that (b) democracy results from, and is shaped by, the interactions between its ideals and its reality, the pull of an ought and the resistance of an is.”

Giovanni Sartori (1924–2017) Italian journalist and political scientist

The Theory of Democracy Revisited (1987), 1. Can Democracy Be Just Anyting?

“Then came the political campaign of 1920 with its bitter personal feuds, as a result of which the real underlying issues were obscured by passion, misrepresentation and downright falsehood.”

Kirby Page (1890–1957) American clergyman

An American Peace Policy (1925)

“It is not that I am not a fan of American exceptionalism. That is like saying I am not a fan of the moon being made out of green cheese—it does not exist. Powerful states have quite typically considered themselves to be exceptionally magnificent, and the United States is no exception to that. The basis for it ["it" meaning American exceptionalism] is not very substantial to put it politely. The problems with American foreign policy are rooted in its central nature, which we know about or can know about if we want to.”

Noam Chomsky (1928) american linguist, philosopher and activist

Interview with The Young Turks, October 26, 2010 https://chomsky.info/20101026/
Quotes 2010s, 2010

“The task on our part is twofold: First, as simple patriotism requires, to separate the false from the real issues; and, secondly, with facts and without rancor, to clarify the real problems for the American public.”

Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945) 32nd President of the United States

1930s, Address at the Democratic State Convention, Syracuse, New York (1936)
Context: The task on our part is twofold: First, as simple patriotism requires, to separate the false from the real issues; and, secondly, with facts and without rancor, to clarify the real problems for the American public.
There will be — there are — many false issues. In that respect, this will be no different from other campaigns. Partisans, not willing to face realities, will drag out red herrings as they have always done — to divert attention from the trail of their own weaknesses.

“It was a mistake to speak one’s mind at any time, unless it perfectly matched your political purpose; and it never did. Best to strip all statements of real content, this was a basic law of diplomacy.”

Kim Stanley Robinson (1952) American science fiction writer

Source: Red Mars (1992), Chapter 6, “Guns Under the Table” (p. 418)

“A typical vice of American politics — the avoidance of saying anything real on real issues, and the announcement of radical policies with much sound and fury, and at the same time with a cautious accompaniment of weasel phrases each of which sucks the meat out of the preceding statement.”

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Theodore Roosevelt 445

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