220 Quotes by George F. Will

Politics in a democracy is transactional: Politicians seek votes by promising to do things for voters, who seek promises in exchange for their votes.

On March 8 a poll showed Hart 9 points ahead of Reagan. So perhaps 60 million Americans, 55 million of whom had not heard of Hart a month ago, have suddenly decided thay want him to be leader of the free world. The public mind is not just soft wax, it’s runny.

In the annals of American blunders, the Bay of Pigs may have been even more feckless, and the invasion of Iraq more costly, but we cannot yet calculate the cost of teaching Iran and others, by our role in the casual overthrow of Moammar Gaddafi, the peril of not having nuclear weapons.

Hart is still like that little tub of vaguely milklike gunk that comes with airline coffee. It is labeled a “nondairy” product. Fine: we know what is is non, but what is it?

Childhood is frequently a solemn business for those inside it.

The almost erotic pleasure of spending money that others have earned and saved is one reason people put up with the tiresome aspects of political life.

Constitutional arguments that seem as dry as dust can have momentous consequences.

Freedom is the silence of the law.

Voters cannot hold officials responsible if they do not know what government is doing, or which parts of government are doing what.