Politics & Power Quote by Morley Safer

Morley Safer, the longtime 60 Minutes correspondent, points to a durable truth about democratic leadership: personal imperfection does not preclude public greatness. American political culture often swings between hero worship and moral panic, yet the historical record resists purity tests. Abraham Lincoln battled melancholy and made grave wartime choices; his moral imagination and political craft still anchor the national story. Franklin Roosevelt concealed disabilities and pushed hardball politics, yet steered the nation through depression and global war. Lyndon Johnson bullied and blustered, presided over a disastrous escalation in Vietnam, and still shepherded civil rights and Medicare into law. Even the most revered legacies are stitched together with contradiction.

Safer’s aside, of course we know that, suggests a common sense the public recognizes but frequently forgets in moments of scandal or outrage. It is not a license to excuse corruption or abuses of power. Rather, it invites a more adult appraisal: character matters, but character is complicated; outcomes matter, but outcomes are rarely pure. Some flaws even power achievement. Ambition can drive reform. A sense of insecurity can sharpen focus. A willingness to bend norms can break legislative deadlocks, though it also risks lasting damage. The task for citizens is to judge whether a leader’s vices overwhelm their virtues, and whether the institutions are strong enough to channel energy without enabling harm.

Journalists like Safer, who covered war, presidencies, and the long arc of American politics, saw how time reframes reputations. Ulysses Grant and Harry Truman climbed in historical rankings decades after leaving office. Richard Nixon’s opening to China sits uneasily alongside Watergate. Greatness, when it is real, emerges from a mix of vision, circumstance, and fallible humanity. Expecting saints from politicians invites disillusion; expecting nothing invites cynicism and decay. The wiser stance is demanding accountability while accepting that the people who meet epic challenges are as flawed as the nation that elects them.