Taylor Caldwell's wise words on political matters appear in several articles, most recently in one that quotes what she said in Captains and the Kings: The Story of an American Dynasty about the sinister forces that operate behind the scenes.
There may not be much that is particularly original in what she has to say - it may often seem that she is just stating the obvious - but the way she expresses her ideas really brings the depressing messages home.
This proposition comes from the same book:
“A politician, as we know, who serves the people, really serves them out of conviction and idealism, is eventually despised by them as a naïve imbecile. But a scoundrel of color, who can invent a few deadly aphorisms of his own, and can laugh and twinkle and joke, gets their adoration, and even if he is later exposed for what he is—a thief, a time-server, a liar—the public becomes hysterical at the 'attacks' on him. In fact, the public will attack the outraged attackers of their darling.”
This makes me think of a few scoundrelly but colourful politicians, past and present, in the UK! Such people do indeed get away with a lot because of their charming and amusing personas.
Another edition of Taylor Caldwell's best-selling historical novel, which was first published in 1972:
