Hugh Sidey Quotes & Sayings

Bureaucrats are the only people in the world who can say absolutely nothing and mean it. — Hugh Sidey

When people travel here from across the country, they shed jealousies and politics and prejudices. The mighty climb down. The humble are elevated. — Hugh Sidey

In this era of world leadership, the metal detector is the altar and the minicam may be god. — Hugh Sidey

The problems seem so easy out there on the stump. Deficits shrink with a rhetorical flourish. — Hugh Sidey

A sense of humor ... is needed armor. Joy in one's heart and some laughter on one's lips is a sign that the person down deep has a pretty good grasp of life. — Hugh Sidey

In just 20 years terrorism, communications, the jet plane and the increase of wealth and knowledge have forced, to varying degrees, world leaders into a haunted and secret peerage whose links with the people they guide are meticulously cleansed and staged. — Hugh Sidey

They can see the brave silhouette from almost anywhere in the District of Columbia and use it as a compass to locate other monuments and eventually to find their way out of the great, gray federal wilderness. — Hugh Sidey

Kennedy did not have to run the risk of having his ideas and his words shortened and adulterated by a correspondent. This was the television era, not only in campaigning, but in holding the presidency. — Hugh Sidey

We are creating a political demolition derby, not a presidential debate. Those strange impulses in the American soul that have produced mud wrestling and The Gong Show seem to have claimed the national campaign. — Hugh Sidey

China's Premier Zhao Ziyang, for all of his billion constituents, seemed in the evening's lovely flow like a favorite uncle, smiling a little too much, wanting to be a bit American, talking about peace and pork chops. — Hugh Sidey

A White House dinner is the American family assembled, from labor leaders to billionaires, actors, architects, academicians and athletes. — Hugh Sidey

Carry laughter with you wherever you go. — Hugh Sidey

The legions of reporters who cover politics don't want to quit the clash and thunder of electoral combat for the dry duty of analyzing the federal budget. As a consequence, we have created the perpetual presidential campaign. — Hugh Sidey

We love the blather and boast, the charge and counter-charge of campaigning. Governing is a tougher deal. — Hugh Sidey

The prime minister found something hopeful in the man's eyes and manner. The 30 or so people who run this world analyze one another that way and then make decisions of life and death for us. Scary, but true. — Hugh Sidey

Reagan "has conducted an arms race on earth," boomed Mondale. A race generally implies two parties. The Soviets contributed a little bit to this problem, if Mondale had not noticed. — Hugh Sidey

A sense of humor is needed armor. — Hugh Sidey