Ambition characterizes and distinguishes national officeholders from other kinds of human beings.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
Inflammatory passion and selfish interest characterizes most men, whereas ambition characterizes men who pursue and hold national office. Such men rise from the people through a process of self-selection, since politics is a dirty business that discourages all but the most ambitious.
The power of a person derives not from the office he occupies but from a clear sense of direction and aspiration and from a willingness to struggle for his ways and beliefs.
Ambition, of course, is the politician's currency.
Every citizen has to figure out what kind of government he or she wants.
Individuality is the aim of political liberty. By leaving the citizen as much freedom of action and of being as comports with order and the rights of others, the institutions render him truly a freeman. He is left to pursue his means of happiness in his own manner.
Individuals move and shift from one party to another simply on their aspirations for office.
We say that someone occupies an official position, whereas it is the official position that occupies him.
It is hard to say why politicians are called servants, unless it is because a good one is hard to find.
Officeholders are the agents of the people, not their masters.
In the scheme of our national government, the presidency is preeminently the people's office.