Frank Dane Quotes

Any man who tells the people what they want to hear is usually pretty popular

The heights of popularity and patriotism are still the beaten road to power and tyranny.

Politicians, no matter who they are, shouldn't be able to manipulate the public on a single issue and then call an election at the height of support - that's a little bit of a manipulation of democracy.

The essence of American politics consists of the manipulation of populism by elitism.

Politics is an impressionistic art form.

Politicians trim and tack in their quest for power, but they do so in order to get the wind of votes in their sails.

What does democracy come down to? The persuasive power of slogans invented by wily self-seeking politicians.

Roosevelt knew never to lose control of the majority of American opinion, unlike his greatest democratic contemporaries, Churchill and De Gaulle, who at times suffered spectacular rejections by their electorates.

The politician has to try to appeal to everybody. So, consequently, he cannot tell the truth, because if he tells the truth over there, then these people over here will be offended.

I court not the votes of the fickle mob.

The will of the nation" is one of those expressions which have been most profusely abused by the wily and the despotic of every age.

Shrewd and crafty politicians, when they wish to bring about an unpopular measure, must not go straight forward to work, if they do they will certainly fail; and failures to men in power, are like defeats to a general, they shake their popularity. Therefore, since they cannot sail in the teeth of the wind, they must tack, and ultimately gain their object, by appearing at times to be departing from it.

The art of leading the vulgar, in itself, does no discredit to its practitioner. Lincoln practiced it unashamed, and so did Webster, Clay, and Henry. What is more, these men practiced it with frank allowance for the naïveté of the people they presumed to lead.

A candidate must be like a chameleon, adapting to each person he meets, changing his expression and speech as necessary…. Tell the Senate that you will maintain their traditional powers and privileges. Let the business community and the wealthy citizens know that you are for stability and peace. Assure the common people that you have always been on their side.

Presidents have to decide what their popularity is for. Lyndon Johnson probably understood best that political popularity is a wasting asset. You had to use it when you had it.

In order to govern, you have to win.

Many people in public life are not good campaigners.

I think people really liked Bill Clinton. They'd like to see him get elected, but Hillary's just a different animal.

You can fool some of the people part of the time in a rock and roll song, fifty million Elvis Presley fans can't be all wrong.

The secret of the demagogue is to make himself as stupid as his audience so they believe they are clever as he.

Popularity is not the single determining factor, as we all know, in how people vote.

Washington has a mysterious power to turn perfectly reasonable, wholesome, well-meaning human beings into equivocating crooked gasbags.

You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all the people some of the time, which is just long enough to be president of the United States.

The writers are pretty political and they want to get as big an audience as they can - they want the popular vote.

Political organizations are formed to keep the powerful in power.