“Nations are born in the hearts of poets; they prosper and then die in the hands of politicians.”
Muhammad Iqbál (1877–1938) Urdu poet and leader of the Pakistan Movement
Stray reflections http://www.allamaiqbal.com/works/prose/english/strayreflections/index.htm
“It is hard for any one to be an honest politician who is not born and bred a Dissenter.”
William Hazlitt (1778–1830) English writer
"On Court-Influence" (January 3/January 10, 1818)
Political Essays (1819)
Martin Niemöller (1892–1984) German anti-Nazi theologian and Lutheran pastor
As quoted in Martin Niemöller, 1892-1984 (1984) by James Bentley, p. 223
Harry Truman (1884–1972) American politician, 33rd president of the United States (in office from 1945 to 1953)
As quoted in The New York World Telegram & Sun (12 April 1958) <br class="br">Source: Impromptu remarks http://books.google.com/books?id=2Tu3bScwKKAC&q=%22I'm+proud+that+I'm+a+politician+A+politician+is+a+man+who+understands+government+and+it+takes+a+politician+to+run+a+government+A+statesman+is+a+politician+who's+been+dead+10+or+15+years%22&pg=PT289#v=onepage before the Reciprocity Club, Washington, D.C. (11 April 1958)
“Unfortunately politicians are not very sound people or they wouldn't be politicians.”
Jim Rogers (1942) American writer
Jim Rogers quizzed on euro, Greece bailout, EU future (time:4:50) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZrLlFyPZ-Y
Randall Jarrell (1914–1965) poet, critic, novelist, essayist
"The Intellectual in America" (1955), from A Sad Heart at the Supermarket (1962)
General sources
“A politician is a politician whether he's wearing a suit or a funny hat.”
Reza Aslan (1972) Iranian-American author, commentator
Ben Carson (1951) 17th and current United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development; American neurosurgeon
"Ben Carson announces, brings his celebrity to 2016 race" http://edition.cnn.com/2015/05/04/politics/ben-carson-2016-presidential-announcement/, CNN (May 4, 2015)
Bronisław Komorowski (1952) Polish politician, president of Poland
"Ex-president says Polish politicians are poorly paid" in Polskie Radio https://www.polskieradio.pl/395/7784/Artykul/2786822,Expresident-says-Polish-politicians-are-poorly-paid (10 August 2021)
