--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Nixon was a professional politician, and…" description: "\"Nixon was a professional politician, and I despised everything he stood for -- but if he were running for president this year against the evil Bush-Che..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc9/hunter-s-thompson-278_despised_nixon-was-a-professional-politician-and_2622629.jpg" --- # Nixon was a professional politician, and I despised… ![“Nixon was a professional politician, and I despised everything he stood for -- but if he were running for president this year against the evil Bush-Cheney gang, I would happily vote for him.” quote by Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc9/hunter-s-thompson-278_despised_nixon-was-a-professional-politician-and_2622629.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc9/hunter-s-thompson-278_despised_nixon-was-a-professional-politician-and_2622629.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc9/hunter-s-thompson-278_despised_nixon-was-a-professional-politician-and_2622629.jpg) > “Nixon was a professional politician, and I despised everything he stood for -- but if he were running for president this year against the evil Bush-Cheney gang, I would happily vote for him.” [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Even a despised politician might be preferable to a worse alternative in a specific election context. **In simple terms:** Vote for the lesser evil. Key Takeaway Consider all options. Themes politics ethics strategic voting disillusionment Mood critical reflective Type analytical political When to use this quote - election strategy - voter education - campaign analysis Key Concepts realpolitik moral relativism Questions to Reflect On - What criteria define a “lesser evil”? - How do personal biases affect political choices? A Different Perspective May legitimize undesirable candidates. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cheney Gang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cheney-gang-2122541/) [Despised](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despised/) [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Evil Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil-bush-2122542/) [Gang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gang/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Nixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nixon/) [Nixon Professional](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nixon-professional-2122540/) [Politician](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politician/) [Politician Despised](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politician-despised-1587864/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [President](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/president/) [Professional Politician](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/professional-politician-1134260/) [Running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running/) [Vote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vote/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) ## Related quotes > [No British politician has ever been more despised by the British people than Margaret Thatcher.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/no-british-politician-has-ever-been-more-despised-by-the-british/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A professional politician is a professionally dishonorable man. In order to get anywhere near high office he has to make so many compromises and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/a-professional-politician-is-a-professionally-dishonorable-man-in/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [Up until Trump announced his candidacy, the conventional wisdom was that you had to be a professional politician in order to run. You had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-cuban/up-until-trump-announced-his-candidacy-the-conventional-wisdom-was/) [Mark Cuban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-cuban/) > [I do not purport to be a professional politician.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ksenia-sobchak/i-do-not-purport-to-be-a-professional-politician/) [Ksenia Sobchak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ksenia-sobchak/) > [Pierre Trudeau was too much of a professional politician to be described as a good man, nor, it can be argued despite much pubilicity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-brimelow/pierre-trudeau-was-too-much-of-a-professional-politician-to-be/) [Peter Brimelow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-brimelow/) > [No professional politician is ever actually in favor of public economy. It is his implacable enemy, and he knows it. All professional politicians are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/no-professional-politician-is-ever-actually-in-favor-of-public/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [The career of politics grants a feeling of power. The knowledge of influencing men, of participating in power over them, and above all, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-weber/the-career-of-politics-grants-a-feeling-of-power-the-knowledge-of/) [Max Weber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-weber/) > [I'm not a professional politician, I'm a problem solver.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carly-fiorina/i-m-not-a-professional-politician-i-m-a-problem-solver/) [Carly Fiorina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carly-fiorina/) > [I'm not a professional politician. I'm a professional problem solver...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-cain/i-m-not-a-professional-politician-i-m-a-professional-problem-solver/) [Herman Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-cain/) > [I am not a professional politician.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bolton/i-am-not-a-professional-politician/) [John Bolton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bolton/) > [We forget that the most successful statesmen have been professionals. Lincoln was a professional politician.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-frankfurter/we-forget-that-the-most-successful-statesmen-have-been-professionals/) [Felix Frankfurter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-frankfurter/) > [Amidst the flood of dangerous reading, I plead for my Master's book; I call upon you not to forget the book of the soul.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle/amidst-the-flood-of-dangerous-reading-i-plead-for-my-master-s-book-i/) [J. C. Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-ryle/) > [“He had despised that Mary with her idiot smile, symbol of a story that meant nothing, servant of a God who no good to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-hill/he-had-despised-that-mary-with-her-idiot-smile-symbol-of-a-story-that/) [Joe Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-hill/) > [You are still despised and mocked, A man too weak and infirm to be God, A God too much man to call forth adoration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil/you-are-still-despised-and-mocked-a-man-too-weak-and-infirm-to-be-god/) [Khalil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil/) > [He lacked tenderness; he was rude; and he had more than a streak of cruelty in him; he was a thief and a liar.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/he-lacked-tenderness-he-was-rude-and-he-had-more-than-a-streak-of/) [Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) ## More by Hunter S. Thompson > [“There was also the fact that sending a penniless writer to get $135 worth of beer was — as Khrushchev said of Nixon —…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/there-was-also-the-fact-that-sending-a-penniless-writer-to-get-135/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [“Cases of champagne and scotch lay broken in the street, and everyone I saw had a bottle. They were screaming and dancing, and in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/cases-of-champagne-and-scotch-lay-broken-in-the-street-and-everyone-i/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [No music + Bad TV = Bad mood & no pages.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/no-music-bad-tv-bad-mood-no-pages/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [By disgracing and degrading the presidency of the United States, by fleeing the White House like a diseased cur, Richard Nixon broke the heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/by-disgracing-and-degrading-the-presidency-of-the-united-states-by/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [No one holds command over me. No man. No god. No Prince. What is a claim of age for ones who are immortal? What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/no-one-holds-command-over-me-no-man-no-god-no-prince-what-is-a-claim/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [“The person who doesn't scatter the morning dew will not comb grey hairs”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/the-person-who-doesn-t-scatter-the-morning-dew-will-not-comb-grey/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [Hope rises and dreams flicker and die. Love plans for tomorrow and loneliness thinks of yesterday. Life is beautiful and living is pain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/hope-rises-and-dreams-flicker-and-die-love-plans-for-tomorrow-and/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [If we get chased out of Iraq with our tail between our legs, that will be the fifth consecutive Third-world country with no hint…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/if-we-get-chased-out-of-iraq-with-our-tail-between-our-legs-that-will/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [At age 22 I set what I insist is an all-time record for distance hitchhiking in Bermuda shorts: 3,700 miles in three weeks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/at-age-22-i-set-what-i-insist-is-an-all-time-record-for-distance/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [Paranoia is just another mask for ignorance. The truth, when you finally chase it down is almost always far worse than your darkest visions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/paranoia-is-just-another-mask-for-ignorance-the-truth-when-you/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [“No doubt they all Got What Was Coming To Them. All those pathetically eager acid freaks who thought they could buy Peace and Understanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/no-doubt-they-all-got-what-was-coming-to-them-all-those-pathetically/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [“For several months they'd been drifting toward political involvement, but the picture was hazy and one of the most confusing elements was their geographical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/for-several-months-they-d-been-drifting-toward-political-involvement/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [He wandered into the Newsroom and asked for a job the same way he’d walk into a barbershop and ask for a haircut, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/he-wandered-into-the-newsroom-and-asked-for-a-job-the-same-way-he-d/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [There's no point in getting into politics at all unless you plan to lash things around.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/there-s-no-point-in-getting-into-politics-at-all-unless-you-plan-to/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [There’s a lot of things wrong with this country, but one of the few things still right with it is that a man can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/there-s-a-lot-of-things-wrong-with-this-country-but-one-of-the-few/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) [Explore all 765 Hunter S. Thompson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) ## More Despised quotes > [He lacked tenderness; he was rude; and he had more than a streak of cruelty in him; he was a thief and a liar.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/he-lacked-tenderness-he-was-rude-and-he-had-more-than-a-streak-of/) [Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) > [You are still despised and mocked, A man too weak and infirm to be God, A God too much man to call forth adoration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil/you-are-still-despised-and-mocked-a-man-too-weak-and-infirm-to-be-god/) [Khalil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil/) > [“He had despised that Mary with her idiot smile, symbol of a story that meant nothing, servant of a God who no good to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-hill/he-had-despised-that-mary-with-her-idiot-smile-symbol-of-a-story-that/) [Joe Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-hill/) > [Amidst the flood of dangerous reading, I plead for my Master's book; I call upon you not to forget the book of the soul.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle/amidst-the-flood-of-dangerous-reading-i-plead-for-my-master-s-book-i/) [J. C. Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-ryle/) > [At a time when painting itself often seems to be a threatened, even despised, form of artistic activity, Andrew Salgado emerges as a dazzlingly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-lucie-smith/at-a-time-when-painting-itself-often-seems-to-be-a-threatened-even/) [Edward Lucie-Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-lucie-smith/) > [And if thy heart be straight with God then every creature shall be to thee a mirror of life and a book of holy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-kempis/and-if-thy-heart-be-straight-with-god-then-every-creature-shall-be-to/) [Thomas a Kempis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-a-kempis/) > [Unless a man gives himself entirely to the Cross, in a spirit of humility and self-abasement; unless he casts himself down to be trampled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-the-evangelist/unless-a-man-gives-himself-entirely-to-the-cross-in-a-spirit-of/) [Mark the Evangelist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-the-evangelist/) > [I'd rather be despised for my character than be liked for my lack of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-d-rather-be-despised-for-my-character-than-be-liked-for-my-lack-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It is easy enough to say that poverty is no crime. No; if it were men wouldn't be ashamed of it. It is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-k-jerome/it-is-easy-enough-to-say-that-poverty-is-no-crime-no-if-it-were-men/) [Jerome K. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-k-jerome/) > [Many men without morals have attacked religion because it was contrary to their inclinations. Many wise men have despised it because it seemed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-d-holbach/many-men-without-morals-have-attacked-religion-because-it-was/) [Baron d'Holbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baron-d-holbach/) > [“For immediately in the beginning, after his original life of blessedness, the first man despised the command of God, and fell into this mortal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eusebius-of-caesarea/for-immediately-in-the-beginning-after-his-original-life-of/) [Eusebius of Caesarea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eusebius-of-caesarea/) > [I like to give a voice to others, especially things neglected or despised.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-morgan/i-like-to-give-a-voice-to-others-especially-things-neglected-or/) [Edwin Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-morgan/) > [Which was worse: a friend with brain damage, or one who despised you?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-westerfeld/which-was-worse-a-friend-with-brain-damage-or-one-who-despised-you/) [Scott Westerfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-westerfeld/) > [The native American has been generally despised by his white conquerors for his poverty and simplicity. They forget, perhaps, that his religion forbade the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-alexander-eastman/the-native-american-has-been-generally-despised-by-his-white/) [Charles Alexander Eastman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-alexander-eastman/) > [“What is believed in one man's time, is despised in another man's day. To be sure, there will even be revulsion in some future…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-o-shea/what-is-believed-in-one-man-s-time-is-despised-in-another-man-s-day/) [Pat O'Shea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-o-shea/) [Browse all 319 Despised quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despised/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Nixon was a professional politician, and I despised everything he stood for -- but if he were running for president this year against the evil Bush-Cheney gang, I would happily vote for him.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Hunter S. 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