Absolute freedom of the press to discuss public questions is a foundation stone of American liberty.
Herbert HooverRead
Once upon a time my political opponents honored me as possessing the fabulous intellectual and economic power by which I created a worldwide depression all by myself.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Herbert Hoover sarcastically reflects on how his opponents attributed the Great Depression solely to his actions.
In this quote, Herbert Hoover, the 31st President of the United States, uses irony to criticize those who blamed him for the Great Depression. He highlights the absurdity of the notion that one individual could single-handedly cause such a monumental economic crisis, revealing how political adversaries manipulate narratives for their advantage.
Themes
PoliticsDepressionBlameIronyEconomy
In practice
Example use cases
During a debate about economic policies, one could reference Hoover's quote to illustrate the complexities of blame in politics.
More from Herbert Hoover
All quotes βNo prosaic description can portray the grandeur of 40 miles of rugged mountains rising beyond a placid lake in which each shadowy precipice and each purple gorge is reflected with a vividness that rivals the original.
Herbert HooverRead
Blessed are the young for they shall inherit the national debt.
Herbert HooverRead
Peace is not made at the council table or by treaties, but in the hearts of men.
Herbert HooverRead
Words without actions are the assassins of idealism.
Herbert HooverRead
There is no more cruel illusion than that war makes a people richer.
Herbert HooverRead
Similar quotes
Our only political party has two right wings, one called Republican, the other Democratic. But Henry Adams figured all that out back in the 1890s. "We have a single system," he wrote, and "in that system the only question is the price at which the proletariat is to be bought and sold, the bread and circuses."
Gore VidalRead
Terrorism works better as a tactic for dictatorships, or for would-be dictators, than for revolutionaries .
Christopher HitchensRead
Why should Iran have a deterrent strategy? Well, it's surrounded by hostile enemies. Both of its borders have been under occupation by a hostile superpower, the United States, which is constantly violating the U.N. charter by leaving open what they call the saying, 'all options are open' - meaning the threat of war.
Noam ChomskyRead
Democracy is the best chance for the best people.
Robert FrostRead
The local interest of a State ought in every case to give way to the interests of the Union. For when a sacrifice of one or the other is necessary, the former becomes only an apparent, partial interest, and should yield, on the principle that the smaller good ought never to oppose the greater good.
Alexander HamiltonRead
In politics you must always keep running with the pack. The moment that you falter and they sense that you are injured, the rest will turn on you like wolves.
Rab ButlerRead