Politics & Power Quote by John McCarthy

McCarthy’s line is built like a handshake that turns into a wrist lock. He opens with an egalitarian concession: both politicians and journalists operate in pressure cookers that warp “honesty and humanity.” That pairing matters. Honesty is the civic ideal; humanity is the personal one. By putting them under strain, he implies the problem isn’t simply corruption or bias, but a system that rewards emotional hardening and strategic omission.

Then comes the pivot: politicians, he argues, “stand up somewhat better.” The qualifier “somewhat” is the sly lubricant. It keeps the claim from sounding like crude self-exoneration, even as it delivers exactly that. The phrase “on the average” adds a veneer of statistical modesty, as if this were an observed social fact rather than a self-serving hierarchy. Rhetorically, it’s a politician’s move: present a provocative judgment as measured, almost reluctant.

The subtext is a turf war over moral authority. Journalists often posture as referees of public virtue; McCarthy resents that elevated perch. By ranking politicians above journalists, he flips the usual scandal economy in which politicians lie and reporters reveal. In his framing, journalists are the ones who break first: chasing access, simplifying complexity into narrative, turning human stakes into copy. Politicians, he suggests, at least must carry consequences, negotiate compromises, and face voters.

Contextually, it’s a defense of the political craft against media cynicism: a reminder that the press can be as tempted by power, status, and tribal reward as any legislator. It’s also a warning: when the people paid to scrutinize power lose their humanity, they don’t just misreport events; they deform what the public thinks politics is for.