Politics & Power Quote by Hubert H. Humphrey

Humphrey’s line lands like a shrug with teeth: it borrows the comforting cadence of a proverb, then weaponizes it against the very craft he practiced. The first sentence nods to the old moral balm - human beings mess up, and that’s survivable. The second snaps the balm off and exposes the real operating system of public life: mistakes aren’t just managed, they’re reassigned.

The intent is double. On the surface, it’s a wry confession about how governing actually works, a reminder that politicians are not uniquely flawed so much as uniquely incentivized. Beneath that is a critique of a system where accountability is less a virtue than a vulnerability. In politics, admitting error doesn’t simply cost pride; it can cost power, allies, headlines, reelection. Blame becomes a currency because it converts complexity into a clear villain and, crucially, keeps the speaker out of the frame.

The subtext also flatters the listener: you, citizen, are savvy enough to recognize the game. That’s part of why it works. It invites the public to feel worldly, even as it normalizes cynicism. Coming from Humphrey - a liberal stalwart associated with the messy realities of coalition-building in mid-century America - the line reads as both self-indictment and self-defense. It suggests an insider’s realism: you can be earnest about policy and still know that the narrative battlefield rewards scapegoats more than solutions.

It’s funny because it’s bleak, and bleak because it’s familiar.