Politics

Quotations about Politics

Using Quotations in a Speech or Text about Politics

As well as keeping your audience engaged, adding quotations to a speech or a text can significantly enhance its impact and effectiveness. Quotations are useful for explaining complex ideas concisely, much in the same way that analogies are used. Additionally, quotations from experts or celebrities can add credibility to your message.

Here are some funny and poignant quotations about politics. If your speech is serious, do not automatically avoid funny quotations as they can often be the most impactful, forcing your audience into the thinking about the hidden analogous message in your selected quotation.

"Comedy is simply a funny way of being serious." (British actor Peter Ustinov)
"When a thing is funny, search it carefully for a hidden truth." (Irish dramatist George Bernard Shaw)

If you are looking to make a fuller speech about politics, then below this selection of quotations are three funny themes and three serious themes on the topic of politics that might help trigger some ideas for your speech or text.

"Politics is just show business for ugly people." Jay Leno (American comedian, 1950-)

"Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedies." Groucho Marx (American film comedian, 1890-1977)

In politics, absurdity is *not a handicap.*not tolerated.*expected.* Napoleon Bonaparte (French military commander and political leader, 1769-1821)

"I have come to the conclusion that politics are too serious a matter to be left to the politicians." Charles de Gaulle (French soldier and statesman, 1890-1970)

Politics is the skilled use of *blunt objects.*words.*back-stabbing.* Lester B. Pearson (Canadian statesman, 1897-1972)

"In politics, nothing happens by accident. If it happens, you can bet it was planned that way." Franklin D. Roosevelt (American Democratic statesman, 1882-1945)

The problem with political jokes is they get *elected.*boring after a while.*told badly.* anonymous

"In politics, the word 'sincere' is often mistaken for 'truthful'." David Mamet (American dramatist and director, 1947-)

"Politicians are like diapers. They need to be changed often and for the same reason." anonymous

"Politics is the art of making the impossible possible, the predictable unpredictable, and the inevitable unlikely." Laurent Fabius (French politician, 1946-)

Practical politics consists in ignoring *facts.*details.*advice.* Henry Brooks Adams (American historian, 1838-1918)

"Politics is the gentle art of getting votes from the poor and campaign funds from the rich by promising to protect each from the other." Oscar Ameringer (American humorist, 1870-1943)

"Je suis Marxiste – tendance Groucho." (I am a Marxist – of the Groucho tendency.) anonymous

"Vote for the man who promises least; he'll be the least disappointing." Bernard Baruch (American financier and presidential adviser, 1870-1965)

"Politics: A strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles. The conduct of public affairs for private advantage." Ambrose Bierce (American writer, 1842-1914)

"The liberals can understand everything but people who don't understand them." Lenny Bruce (American comedian, 1925-66)

"Have you ever seen a candidate talking to a *rich*normal*poor* person on television?" Art Buchwald (American humorist, 1925-2007)

"Politics are almost as exciting as war and quite as dangerous. In war you can only be killed once, but in politics, many times." Winston Churchill (British Conservative statesman, 1874-1965)

"There are no true friends in politics. We are all sharks circling, and waiting, for traces of blood to appear in the water." Alan Clark (British Conservative politician, 1928-99)

"The duty of an Opposition is very simple: to oppose everything, and propose nothing." Lord Derby (British Conservative statesman, 1799-1869)

"Gratitude is not a normal feature of political life." Lord Kilmuir (British Conservative politician and lawyer, 1900-67)

If voting changed anything, they'd *abolish*vote for*ignore* it. Ken Livingstone (British Labour politician, 1945-)

"If you want to succeed in politics, you must keep your conscience well under control." David Lloyd George (British Liberal statesman, 1863-1945)

"Being in politics is like being a football coach. You have to be smart enough to understand the game, and dumb enough to think it's important." Eugene McCarthy (American Democratic politician, 1916-2005) while campaigning for the presidency

"I have never found in a long experience of politics that criticism is ever inhibited by ignorance." Harold Macmillan (British Conservative statesman, 1894-1986)

"When I want a *peerage*country manor*cow* I shall buy it like an honest man." Lord Northcliffe (British newspaper proprietor, 1865-1922)

"Politics is supposed to be the second oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the first." Ronald Reagan (American Republican statesman, 1911-2004)

"Communism is like prohibition. It's a good idea but it won't work." Will Rogers (American actor and humorist, 1879-1935)

"He knows nothing; and he thinks he knows everything. That points clearly to a political career." George Bernard Shaw (Irish dramatist, 1856-1950)

Minorities are almost always in *the right.*prison.*the way.* Sydney Smith (English clergyman and essayist, 1771-1845)

"An independent is a guy who wants to take the politics out of politics." Adlai Stevenson (American Democratic politician, 1900-65)

Thinking Template for a Speech or Text on Politics

Below are 3 funny themes and 3 serious themes related to politics. These have been included to help you identify areas to explore.

Funny Themes:

Political Parodies: Hilarious Takes on Political Figures
- Share amusing stories or satirical anecdotes about political figures, highlighting the humor in exaggerated personas, funny speeches, or quirky campaign moments.
Political Puns: The Funniest Jokes and Wordplay
- Explore humorous anecdotes or pun-filled stories involving political humor, discussing the comical side of policy debates, elections, and political satire.
Campaign Capers: The Most Absurd Political Promises and Proposals
- Discuss comical stories or mishaps during political campaigns, from outlandish promises to unexpected campaign trail blunders, showcasing the absurdity and humor in electoral politics.

Serious Themes:

Democratic Governance: Principles and Challenges
- Discuss the principles of democratic governance, addressing challenges such as transparency, accountability, and public trust in political institutions and leadership.
Political Ideologies: Understanding Differences and Debates
- Explore various political ideologies and their impact on policy-making and governance, discussing the significance of ideological diversity and political discourse in democratic societies.
Global Politics: Diplomacy, Conflict, and Cooperation
- Address international relations, diplomacy, and global cooperation, discussing geopolitical challenges, peace-building efforts, and the role of diplomacy in resolving conflicts.

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