"To err is human. To blame someone else is politics"
About this Quote
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.
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.
Quote Details
| Topic | Witty One-Liners |
|---|
More Quotes by Hubert
Add to List
