“I believe that almost all politicians are honest.”
This I Believe (1952)
Context: I believe that almost all politicians are honest. For every bribed alderman there are hundreds of politicians, low paid or not paid at all, doing their level best without thanks or glory to make our system work. If this were not true, we would never have gotten past the thirteen colonies.
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Robert A. Heinlein 557
American science fiction author 1907–1988Related quotes
"The Intellectual in America" (1955), from A Sad Heart at the Supermarket (1962)
General sources
“A good politician is quite as unthinkable as an honest burglar.”
“To believe all men honest is folly. To believe none is something worse.”
“It is hard for any one to be an honest politician who is not born and bred a Dissenter.”
"On Court-Influence" (January 3/January 10, 1818)
Political Essays (1819)
“I believe in the honest craft of workmen.”
This I Believe (1952)
Context: I believe in the honest craft of workmen. Take a look around you. There never were enough bosses to check up on all that work. From Independence Hall to the Grand Coulee Dam, these things were built level and square by craftsmen who were honest in their bones.
“To believe all men honest would be folly. To believe none so, is something worse.”
Letter to William Eustis http://books.google.com/books?id=S088AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA319 (22 June 1809), published in Writings of John Quincy, Adams (1914), The Macmillan company.
Variant: All men profess honesty as long as they can. To believe all men honest would be folly. To believe none so is something worse.
BBC Newsnight http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/newsnight/1988874.stm
Interview with Jeremy Paxman, 16 May 2002.
2000s