Grandiloquence Quotes
1st Earl of Beaconsfield
What was amazing about this attack was that at the time Conkling was one of the most powerful Republicans in the nation and Blaine was just a young member of the House. Also, the House rules prohibited the personal attack on another member. Blaine carefully phased his attack in the abstract but everyone knew to whom he was referring. Most, even within the party, agreed with the personal criticism of Conkling although he was much admired as a politician and political leader. After this House speech, all the political cartoonists depicted Conkling as a turkey gobbler in full strut. “Supereminent” is an adjective which was and is not commonly used, but is perfect for the quotation. Blaine’s attack on Conkling immediately made him a national figure and he succeeded Conkling as the national leader of the Republican party.
Criticizing the oratory of President Warren G. Harding:
He was not referring to electronic amplification of the sound – microphones, speakers, and amplifiers were not yet invented. He was referring to the style and content of the speech.
Then a Congressman and attacking his own Republican leader, Roscoe Conkling:
This and other quotations like {640615} and {640616} show that the State Department knew that Mobutu Sese Seko, the man we were backing in the Congo had many very undesirable characteristics for a dependable foreign ally and one who should be given control of billions of American money. Yet nothing was done and we continued to support him despite the kleptocracy and the instability that undermined his regime and the United States along with it.
