A politician is a man who understands government, and it takes a politician to run a government. A statesman is a politician who's been dead 10 or 15 years.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Truman distinguishes between living politicians and dead statesmen, suggesting time validates leadership.
- In plain terms
- A statesman is just a politician who is no longer around.
- What can you take from it?
- Time often decides if a leader was good or bad.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How is legacy decided?
- Who counts as a statesman?
Another view
It ignores that some bad leaders remain remembered negatively.
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