John Dingell Quotes

[Warren] Harding didn't like being a Senator; he liked being in the Senate.

Bureaucrats understand who their real masters are. Their real masters are not their nominal department heads. The real powers are the chairmen on Capitol Hill.

I was appointed to Cabinet three times; on no occasion did I pitch for what position I wanted.

Politics was put in front of me. I do politics because it's the vehicle for change and because I happen to be good at it... I had this sort of calm fearlessness, that some would call foolishness.

Good men who exercise power are really the most fascinating of all people.

I am chairman of the Africa subcommittee in the House of Representatives.

Bombino's a super modest guy, very nice. His whole crew is a bunch of characters and he's definitely the Grand Poobah. I don't think the other guys are that much younger than him, but he definitely feels like the wise man; you just sort of get that sense when you're around him. He doesn't say that much but he's humble and well-respected.

I don't seek power and do not run around.

The first test of a truly great man is his humility. By humility I don't mean doubt of his powers or hesitation in speaking his opinion, but merely an understanding of the relationship of what he can say and what he can do.

Somebody said, 'You may be a committee chair.' I don't think so. I don't think anybody would want me that much.

Humility is no substitute for a good personality.

Self-praise is for losers. Be a winner. Stand for something. Always have class, and be humble.

Politicians fascinate because they constitute such a paradox; they are an elite that accomplishes mediocrity for the public good.

I am a junior senator, ninety-fifth on the seniority list, and so by Senate standards, my office in the Russell Senate Office Building is less than splendid.

Never descend to the ways of those above you.

The people never have and never will be able to understand how the will of a majority of the House of Representatives can be set aside by the judgment of a few men on a powerful committee.

the White Czar of Congress.

He is the best of men who dislikes power.

Rayburn was one of the most powerful men in national life. If he were not from Texas, he could have been President … He was a powerhouse!

Power won't change me.

To be frank, politics is about wanting power, getting it, exercising it, and keeping it.

It was flattering to have high expectations, but I was never going to be President.

People rarely grow in humility once they reach the White House.

If Advaniji did not want, I would never have been Prime Minister.

I never say someone is powerful.