Today’s quotes come from John Adams, second President of the United States.

In my many years I have come to a conclusion that one useless man is a shame, two is a law firm, and three or more is a congress.

No man who ever held the office of president would congratulate a friend on obtaining it.

It may be just me, but the level of political speaking has gone down since the arrival of the “sound bite”. US Presidents used to say things like this, now we have discussions about the definition of “is” and how do pronounce “nuclear”. In an era where anything they say can and will appear instantly around the world, politicians try to please everyone rather than say what they think. Nothing leads to a mediocre speech faster than trying to please everyone.