“Moral crusade: Public activity undertaken by middle-aged men who are cheating on their wives or diddling little boys. Moral crusades are particularly popular among those seeking power for their own personal pleasure, politicians who can't think of anything useful to do with their mandates, and religious professionals suffering from a personal inability to communicate with their god.” ThinkingMenLittlesSufferingReligiousPleasureMoralBoysWifeMiddlePoliticianActivitySeekingCommunicateCheatingInabilityLittle BoysMandatesMiddle AgedCrusadesInability To Communicate Author:John Ralston Saul
“Unpleasant questions are being raised about Mother's Day. Is this day necessary? . . . Isn't it bad public policy? . . . No politician with half his senses, which a majority of politicians have, is likely to vote for its abolition, however. As a class, mothers are tender and loving, but as a voting bloc they would not hesitate for an instant to pull the seat out from under any Congressman who suggests that Mother is not entitled to a box of chocolates each year in the middle of May.” YearsMayMotherHalfClassMiddlePolicyPoliticianVoteMajorityRaisedBoxesSensesInstantSeatsVotingChocolateThis DayEntitledMothers DayAbolitionCongressmanPublic PolicyBox Of Chocolates Author:Russell Baker
“We all accuse Vladimir Putin of Cold War nostalgia, but Washington's elites - politicians and intellectuals - miss the old days as well. They wish for the world in which the United States was utterly dominant over its friends, its foes were to be shunned entirely, and the challenges were stark, moral, and vital. Today's world is messy and complicated. China is one of our biggest trading partners and our looming geopolitical rival. Russia is a surly spoiler, but it has a globalized middle class and has created ties in Europe.” WorldWellsWarStatesRealityTodayPoliticsWishCommunityChallengesLeadershipUnitedMoneyMoralClassHistoryUnited StatesDemocracyGenerationsMiddleMissingPolicyColdPoliticianEthicsEuropeTradeStrategyHuman RightsChinaComplicatedNostalgiaPartnersRussiaIdeologyTiesMiddle ClassOver ItElitesForeign PolicyDominantCold WarTradingDiplomacyFoeFree MarketRivalsCivilityMessyPutinOld DaysStarksToday's WorldLoomingGeopoliticalSurlySpoilersTrading Partners Author:Fareed Zakaria
“Middle class America is acutely aware of how bad this economy is, and it is going to demand changes. I don't think politicians can afford to be complacent.” ThinkingAmericaClassEconomyMiddlePoliticianDemandMiddle ClassComplacent Author:Elizabeth Warren
“Turkey in general became too involved with what is happening in Egypt and in Syria. Some politicians with neo-Ottoman dreams developed this idea of being a major player in the Middle East, which hasn't gone as expected.” IdeasDreamGonePlayerMiddleInvolvedPoliticianMajorsHappeningsEastExpectedMiddle EastSyriaEgyptTurkeysOttomans Author:Elif Safak
“The American middle class, it seems to me, is looking to politicians now to satisfy a pretty basic - and urgent - level of need. Yet people in the upper middle class - with their excellent health benefits, schools, salaries, retirement plans, nannies and private afterschool programs - have journeyed so far from that level of need that, it often seems to me, they literally cannot hear what resonates with the middle class. That creates a problematic blind spot for those who write, edit or produce what comes to be known about our politicians and their policies.” PeopleNeedsWritingSeemsSchoolLevelsKnownClassPlansMiddlePolicyProducePoliticianBenefitsProgramBlindSpotsExcellentMiddle ClassRetirementUrgentSalaryEditsNanniesBlind SpotsHealth BenefitsUpper Middle Class Author:Judith Warner
“If you go to a diner in the middle of America, people are having these conversations, but our politicians are too scared to bring it up because they're worried about offending the 0.002 percent of the country that may somehow be subject to what the conversation may be. And it's ridiculous.” PeopleIfsMayCountryAmericaMiddleSubjectsPoliticianConversationPercentScaredRidiculousWorriedOffendingDiners Author:Donald Trump, Jr.
“Both [Donald] Trump and Bernie [Sanders] got to this idea of the vanishing middle class sooner and with more passion than more mainstream politicians, and benefited from it. The difference, of course, is that Bernie understood this in a more compassionate framework, and talked about it in conjunction with a revitalization of another part of the American project, which is the notion that we are all created equal, and that our laws and culture and action ought to reflect that.” IdeasActionLawCulturePassionCoursesDifferencesClassMiddleOughtTrumpPoliticianEqualProjectsUnderstoodNotionMiddle ClassCompassionateMainstreamFrameworkVanishingConjunctionsRevitalization Author:George Saunders
“[Barack] Obama doesn't disappoint me, because all during the campaign he said, I'm a pragmatic, middle-of-the-road, compromising politician.” SaidMiddlePoliticianCampaignsCompromiseBarackDisappointPragmaticMiddle Of The Road Author:Bill Ayers
“Politicians don't want democracy here in America, why would they want it in the Middle East?” WantAmericaDemocracyMiddlePoliticianEastMiddle East Author:Noam Chomsky
“As Muslims, we must have an active presence based on ethical and moral consistency. We need to be very vocal, to inform people, to demonstrate when necessary. We need to write so that the people understand that what they are getting from the media and politicians is biased and not accurate. And this is true especially when it comes to some communities within the U.S. or with respect to the Middle East and Africa. This is what I am expecting from a new generation of leaders: Meet these expectations of moral consistency.” PeopleNeedsWritingCommunityLeaderMoralGenerationsMiddleMediaPoliticianExpectationsActiveEastEthicalMiddle EastExpectingAccurateConsistencyVocalNew GenerationBiased Author:Tariq Ramadan
“Many of the American cartoonists that want to have a job and go so much for the total right without thinking, sometimes they get a slap on the face when their politician lets them down. So it goes on and on. The thing is staying in the middle and not getting committed, trying to get the best of both and do that with a sense of humor.” ThinkingWantTryingSometimesJobsFacesMiddleGoes OnPoliticianCommittedStayingSense Of HumorSlapCartoonist Author:Sergio Aragones
“In politics the middle way is none at all.” WaySuccessLawPoliticsMiddlePoliticianNerdMiddle Way Author:John Adams
“There cannot be peace in the Middle East without giving Palestinians their full rights.” GivingPoliticalPeaceRightsMiddlePoliticianHuman RightsEastMiddle EastPalestinianPalestine Author:Mohammed Morsi