Publisher's Synopsis
Grab your hat and fasten your safety belt. You are about to embark on a ride which will take you on a whirlwind tour through the bizarre back streets of American politics. If you think politicians are just stiffs wearing suits, think again. The quotations contained in this book evidence the peculiar nature of politicians. They will surprise you, amaze you, and at times will cause you to laugh out loud. This book is jam-packed with over a thousand "unusual" political quotes. This book is not a traditional book of flat, static quotations listing one quote directly after another, but is truly "three-dimensional," including the quotation, a brief explanation of the context in which each quote was spoken, and a related picture to boot. So take a chance and see if you are not surprised, or amazed, or even dumbstruck by what our politicians think and say. You may never look at politicians in the same way again. The "teasers" below highlight the scope of the odd material that you will discover within this book. *Which President, after losing renomination from his own party, deadpanned: "There is nothing left to do but get drunk." *Which U.S. Representative called his redheaded colleague: "A Howdy Doody looking nimrod." *Which U.S. Senator characterized luncheons attended by U.S. Congressmen and lobbyists as including: "anything you can eat, drink, or fornicate in one afternoon." *Which political candidate after losing an election complained: "The people have spoken. The bastards." *Which Governor, noting the corruption of his state's electoral process, quipped: "When I die, I want to be buried in St. Martin's Parish so I can remain politically active." *In this book, you will find: Which U.S. House Speaker chided his House colleagues by exclaiming: "They never open their mouths without subtracting from the sum of human knowledge." *Which Governor vetoed a piece of legislation because of: "bad spelling, improper punctuation and erasures." *Which U.S. Senator (running for re-election), when asked by an opponent to take a drug test, retorted: "I'll take a drug test if you take an IQ test." *Which President appointed future President James Buchanan to the post of Minister to Russia, exclaiming to friends: "It was as far as I could send him to get him out of my sight, and where he could do the least harm. I would have sent him to the North Pole if we kept a Minister there." *Which President defended his drunk Vice President following the Vice President's "slurred" Inauguration Speech by exclaiming: "He made a slip the other day, but you need not be scared; Andy ain't a drunkard." *Which California Gubernatorial candidate said: "Unemployment insurance is a pre-paid vacation for freeloaders." *Which New York Political Boss and State Senator was enraged by a newspaper political cartoon depicting him as corrupt and told a News Reporter from that Paper: "I don't care a straw for your newspaper articles, my constituents don't know how to read, but they can't help seeing them damned pictures." *Which U.S. Representative issued the following press release: "Americans For Tax Reform are lying sacks of scum, and anyone who knowingly repeats this information is a liar." *Which Republican Governor of a Democratic state joked: "Being a conservative in Massachusetts is like being a cattle rancher at a vegetarian convention." *Which U.S. Representative called a former Presidential nominee of his own party: "A Bellowing - - Blatant - - Bellicose - - Belligerent - - Blowhard." *Which Presidential candidate observed: "War has rules -- Mud wrestling has rules -- Politics has no rules." *Which U.S. Representative never lived down the true story of shooting 14 escaped burros (small donkeys) allegedly in self-defense, claiming 20 years later: "I could find a cure for cancer and they'd remember me as the guy who shot the burros." *Which U.S. House Speaker advised his colleagues that: "A closed mouth gathers no
