--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It would be a healthy exercise for every…" description: "\"It would be a healthy exercise for every politician to look in the mirror every morning and remind himself that he holds office only because, in a two-..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f9c/joseph-sobran-6902_every-morning_it-would-be-a-healthy-exercise-for-every_2468502.jpg" --- # It would be a healthy exercise for every politician to… ![“It would be a healthy exercise for every politician to look in the mirror every morning and remind himself that he holds office only because, in a two-man race against another mediocrity, a modest majority of those half-informed people who imagined that their votes mattered reckoned that he was…” quote by Joseph Sobran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f9c/joseph-sobran-6902_every-morning_it-would-be-a-healthy-exercise-for-every_2468502.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f9c/joseph-sobran-6902_every-morning_it-would-be-a-healthy-exercise-for-every_2468502.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f9c/joseph-sobran-6902_every-morning_it-would-be-a-healthy-exercise-for-every_2468502.jpg) > “It would be a healthy exercise for every politician to look in the mirror every morning and remind himself that he holds office only because, in a two-man race against another mediocrity, a modest majority of those half-informed people who imagined that their votes mattered reckoned that he was the lesser evil. And they weren't too sure about that.” [Joseph Sobran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-sobran/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Politicians should constantly self‑examine, remembering they are chosen by a modest, often uninformed electorate seeking the lesser of two evils. **In simple terms:** Politicians need daily self‑reflection about their mandate. Key Takeaway Practice humble self‑assessment. Themes politics humility electoral dynamics Mood critical thoughtful Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - campaigns - policy making - public speaking Key Concepts democratic theory ethical leadership public perception Questions to Reflect On - How can citizens become more informed? - What mechanisms ensure political humility? A Different Perspective Voter apathy can undermine accountability. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Every morning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/every-morning/) [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Exercise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exercise/) [Health](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/health/) [Lesser evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lesser-evil/) [Mediocrity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mediocrity/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Mirrors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mirrors/) [Morning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/morning/) [Office](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/office/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Politician](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politician/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/race/) [Vote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vote/) ## Related quotes > [“Politician? Me? Do I look like a big mouth with large pockets?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florian-armas/politician-me-do-i-look-like-a-big-mouth-with-large-pockets/) [Florian Armas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florian-armas/) > [There's a terrible danger in voting for the lesser of two evils because the parties can set it up that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/there-s-a-terrible-danger-in-voting-for-the-lesser-of-two-evils/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [“Don't date just to escape the "Im Single" status. Don't marry just to tick off a checklist. Life is NOT a grocery list. Find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicky-verd/don-t-date-just-to-escape-the-im-single-status-don-t-marry-just-to/) [Nicky Verd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicky-verd/) > [Well, I'm against Bush. I'm definitely not pro-Bush. I think he's a maniac and a mad man, and I think he needs to go.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-miret/well-i-m-against-bush-i-m-definitely-not-pro-bush-i-think-he-s-a/) [Roger Miret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-miret/) > [But you don't do it. Because guys like us, Red, we know there's a third choice. 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And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/they-say-that-to-do-injustice-is-by-nature-good-to-suffer-injustice/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [“A man is an angel that has become deranged, Joe Fernwright thought. Once they – all of them – had been genuine angels, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/a-man-is-an-angel-that-has-become-deranged-joe-fernwright-thought/) [Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) > [For the lesser evil is reckoned a good in comparison with the greater evil, since the lesser evil is rather to be chosen than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/for-the-lesser-evil-is-reckoned-a-good-in-comparison-with-the-greater/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) ## More by Joseph Sobran > [Government is the agent of those who are too refined to do their own mugging.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-sobran/government-is-the-agent-of-those-who-are-too-refined-to-do-their-own/) [Joseph Sobran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-sobran/) > [Liberalism's fatal flaw,... is that it has no permanent norms, only a succession of enthusiasms espoused by minor prophets. Each of these seems like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-sobran/liberalism-s-fatal-flaw-is-that-it-has-no-permanent-norms-only-a/) [Joseph Sobran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-sobran/) > [Altering the Constitution has become the daily business of the Federal Government which the document is supposed to guide and limit. Both Congress and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-sobran/altering-the-constitution-has-become-the-daily-business-of-the/) [Joseph Sobran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-sobran/) > [The prevailing notion is that the state should be neutral as to religion, and furthermore, that the best way to be neutral about it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-sobran/the-prevailing-notion-is-that-the-state-should-be-neutral-as-to/) [Joseph Sobran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-sobran/) > [Controlling the interpretation of the Constitution is vital to the leftist agenda of expanding the federal government's power. 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Conservatives should make them spell out their principles and ideals. Instead of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-sobran/liberals-have-a-new-wish-every-time-their-latest-wish-is-granted/) [Joseph Sobran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-sobran/) > [Politics is the conspiracy of the unproductive but organized against the productive but unorganized.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-sobran/politics-is-the-conspiracy-of-the-unproductive-but-organized-against/) [Joseph Sobran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-sobran/) > [ ...\[T\]he Constitution conferred only a few specific powers on the federal government, all others being denied to it (as the Tenth Amendment would make… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-sobran/t-he-constitution-conferred-only-a-few-specific-powers-on-the-federal/) [Joseph Sobran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-sobran/) > [ ...\[T\]oday's Washington is about as attentive to the Tenth Amendment as the Unitarian Church is to the Book of Revelation. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-sobran/t-oday-s-washington-is-about-as-attentive-to-the-tenth-amendment-as/) [Joseph Sobran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-sobran/) > [I call the present system 'Post-Constitutional America.' As I sometimes put it, the U.S. Constitution poses no serious threat to our form of government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-sobran/i-call-the-present-system-post-constitutional-america-as-i-sometimes/) [Joseph Sobran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-sobran/) > [Most Americans aren't the sort of citizens the Founding Fathers expected; they are contented serfs. Far from being active critics of government, they assume…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-sobran/most-americans-aren-t-the-sort-of-citizens-the-founding-fathers/) [Joseph Sobran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-sobran/) > [Because the state can no longer protect us from crime, it wants to take away from us the means of protecting ourselves. 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By putting themselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twyla-tharp/a-lot-of-habitually-creative-people-have-preparation-rituals-linked/) [Twyla Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/) > [I wake up every morning fearing I am going to fail. But I love a challenge, big or small. There's so much I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-mone/i-wake-up-every-morning-fearing-i-am-going-to-fail-but-i-love-a/) [Michelle Mone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-mone/) > [“Every morning I sit at the kitchen table over a tall glass of water swallowing pills. (So my hands won’t shake.) (So my heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanann-verlee/every-morning-i-sit-at-the-kitchen-table-over-a-tall-glass-of-water/) Jeanann Verlee > [“I once asked you what anxiety felt like, and you told me that most days left you riddled with bullet holes. 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For reasons I do not fully understand, fiction dances out of me. Non-fiction is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/fiction-and-non-fiction-are-only-different-techniques-of-story/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) [Browse all 1,986 Every morning quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/every-morning/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It would be a healthy exercise for every politician to look in the mirror every morning and remind himself that he holds office only because, in a two-man race against another mediocrity, a modest majority of those half-informed people who imagined that their votes mattered reckoned that he was the lesser evil. 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