Quotes from Madeleine K. Albright

History has been unkind to timid presidents. It has been downright cruel to those who think themselves above the Constitution.

I continue to believe that the United States banked enough international goodwill in the interval between George Washington and Barack Obama to recover from the present embarrassment—but I am not sure how extensive or lasting the harm will be

A commander in chief who tries to circumvent the Constitution should be restrained by the legislature and judiciary.

Fascism feeds on social and economic grievances, including the belief that the people over there are receiving better treatment than they deserve while I'm not getting what I'm owed. It seems today that almost everyone has a grievance:

caring about others and about the proposition that we are all created equal—is the single most effective antidote to the self-centered moral numbness that allows Fascism to thrive.

Fascism draws energy from men and women who are upset because of a lost war, a lost job, a memory of humiliation, or a sense that their country is in steep decline.

Asked by a reporter to summarize his program, Mussolini replied, "It is to break the bones of the democrats … and the sooner the better.

emancipation from emancipation.

Falsehood flies," observed Jonathan Swift, "and the truth comes limping after it." McCarthy's

This generosity of spirit—this caring about others and about the proposition that we are all created equal—is the single most effective antidote to the self-centered moral numbness that allows Fascism to thrive.

speaking style pleased many voters, as did his reputation for shouting things that more conventional politicians were too timid to whisper. The senator's skin, however, was paper-thin, and he seemed not to care very much whether his startling disclosures had any basis in fact.

Power is, as we know, an addiction prone to abuse. Even those who enter public life with the best of intentions are susceptible to its pull. We ought, therefore, to be mindful of our own bad habit—which is to look for and expect easy answers when the most serious problems we face are anything but.

the Fascist chiefs we remember best were charismatic. Through one method or another, each established an emotional link to the crowd and, like the central figure in a cult, brought deep and often ugly feelings to the surface.

When the Führer predicted a quick victory over England, implying Spain could wait not longer if it wanted to share in the triumph, Franco doubted the scenario, before adding that even if the Germans were to capture London, the British would continue fighting from Canada.

vowing to take back what has been stolen.

To secure the future, they turn schools into seminaries for true believers, striving to produce "new men" and "new women" who will obey without question or pause. And, as one of my students observed, "a Fascist who launches his career by being voted into office will have a claim to legitimacy that others do not.

His goal was to secure approval of a law authorizing him to ignore the constitution, bypass the Reichstag, and govern by decree. He

Consider all the demands that are placed on government, then factor in the gargantuan changes that have taken place in the past seven decades: the end of colonialism, the lifting of the Iron Curtain, the narrowing of the North–South divide, the revolution in technology, and the increased mobility of people. By any objective standard, democracy—though everywhere tested—has not failed and is not failing. Why, then, do we feel so often that it has and is?

Führer would soon make all things right.

When Hitler pressed him for a commitment, he replied with questions. Asked to moderate his demands, he repeated them.

Some may view this book and its title as alarmist. Good. We should be awake to the assault on democratic values that has gathered strength in many countries abroad and that is dividing America at home. The temptation is powerful to close our eyes and wait for the worst to pass, but history tells us that for freedom to survive, it must be defended, and that if lies are to stop, they must be exposed.

He referred to himself as a true representative of the people, a workingman, a veteran, without a bank account, investment income, or a mansion. "Workers," he declared, "you must look upon me as your guarantor. I was born a son of the people; I have spent all my life struggling for you.

He (Mussolini) also stopped comparing himself to Caesar, wondering aloud if Jesus Christ might be a more apt comparison.

He initiated a campaign to drenare la palude ("drain the swamp") by firing more than 35,000 civil servants.