Eugene McCarthy quotes

Eugene McCarthy was an American politician and poet who became widely known for his anti-Vietnam War stance. His 1968 presidential campaign energized a generation of young Americans and challenged the sitting president. He inspired a movement for change within the Democratic Party and American politics. Here are 21 of his quotes:

It is dangerous for a national candidate to say things that people might remember. (Eugene McCarthy)
Being in politics is like being a football coach. You have to be smart enough to understand the game, and dumb enough to think it's important. View quote
Eugene McCarthy
Have you ever tried to split sawdust? View quote
Eugene McCarthy
I'm kind of an accidental instrument, really, through which I hope that the judgment and the will of this nation can be expressed. View quote
Eugene McCarthy
Broken things are powerful."Things about to break are stronger still.The last shot from the brittle bow is truest. View quote
Eugene McCarthy
We do not need presidents who are bigger than the country, but rather ones who speak for it and support it. View quote
Eugene McCarthy
Remember that the worst accidents occur in the middle of the road. View quote
Eugene McCarthy
The only thing that saves us from the bureaucracy is inefficiency. An efficient bureaucracy is the greatest threat to liberty. View quote
Eugene McCarthy
No man could be equipped for the presidency if he has never been tempted by one of the seven cardinal sins. View quote
Eugene McCarthy
I can still smell the tear gas in the Hilton Hotel. View quote
Eugene McCarthy
The only thing that saves us from the bureaucracy is its inefficiency. (Eugene McCarthy)
There is only one thing to do - take it to the country! View quote
Eugene McCarthy
The two-party system has given this country the war of Lyndon Johnson, the Watergate of Nixon, and the incompetence of Carter. Saying we should keep the two-party system simply because it is working is like saying the Titanic voyage was a success because a few people survived on life-rafts. View quote
Eugene McCarthy
The glove has been thrown to the ground, The last choice of weapons made. A book for one thought. A poem for one line. A line for one word. View quote
Eugene McCarthy
I have left Act I, for involution And Act II. There, mired in complexity I cannot write Act III. View quote
Eugene McCarthy
The maple tree that night Without a wind or rain Let go its leaves Because its time had come. View quote
Eugene McCarthy
Now it is certain. There is no magic stone. No secret to be found. One must go With the mind's winnowed learning. View quote
Eugene McCarthy
The Senate is the last primitive society in the world. We still worship the elders of the tribe and honor the territorial imperative. View quote
Eugene McCarthy
Lament for an Aging Politician. View quote
Eugene McCarthy
Broken things are powerful. View quote
Eugene McCarthy
There is danger in the concentration of control in the television and radio networks, especially in the large television and radio stations; danger in the concentration of ownership in the press... and danger in the increasing concentration of selection by book publishers and reviewers and by the producers of radio and television programs. (Eugene McCarthy)