--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Of course I'm respectable. I'm old…" description: "\"Of course I'm respectable. I'm old. Politicians, ugly buildings, and whores all get respectable if they last long enough.\" — Robert Towne" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/779/robert-towne-18966_politics_of-course-i-m-respectable-i-m-old-politi_423260.jpg" --- # Of course I'm respectable. I'm old. Politicians, ugly… ![“Of course I'm respectable. I'm old. Politicians, ugly buildings, and whores all get respectable if they last long enough.” quote by Robert Towne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/779/robert-towne-18966_politics_of-course-i-m-respectable-i-m-old-politi_423260.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/779/robert-towne-18966_politics_of-course-i-m-respectable-i-m-old-politi_423260.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/779/robert-towne-18966_politics_of-course-i-m-respectable-i-m-old-politi_423260.jpg) > “Of course I'm respectable. I'm old. Politicians, ugly buildings, and whores all get respectable if they last long enough.” [Robert Towne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-towne/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Respectability can be achieved through longevity, regardless of initial perception or moral standing. **In simple terms:** Time can legitimize anything. Key Takeaway Consider long-term impact over short-term judgment. Themes reputation time morality Mood cynical thoughtful Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - building legacy - public image - ethical decisions Key Concepts politics architecture social perception Questions to Reflect On - Is lasting fame worth compromising values? - How does time change public opinion? A Different Perspective Respectability may mask underlying issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) ## Related quotes > [Politicians, ugly buildings, and whores all get respectable if they last long enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-towne/politicians-ugly-buildings-and-whores-all-get-respectable-if-they/) [Robert Towne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-towne/) > [Old politicians chew on wisdom past, And totter on in business to the last.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/old-politicians-chew-on-wisdom-past-and-totter-on-in-business-to-the/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [American society has fallen into the biggest cavity our civilization has ever faced and people are tired of the same old politicians getting elected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-backlund/american-society-has-fallen-into-the-biggest-cavity-our-civilization/) [Bob Backlund](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-backlund/) > [There seldom is enmity between seasoned old politicians, who know as much as men can of human weakness and human strength.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-wicker/there-seldom-is-enmity-between-seasoned-old-politicians-who-know-as/) [Tom Wicker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-wicker/) > [Old politicians, like old actors, revive in the limelight. The vacancy which afflicts them in private momentarily lifts when, oncemore, they feel the eyes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-muggeridge/old-politicians-like-old-actors-revive-in-the-limelight-the-vacancy/) [Malcolm Muggeridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-muggeridge/) > [The straight line, a respectable optical illusion which ruins many a man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/the-straight-line-a-respectable-optical-illusion-which-ruins-many-a/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Thinking that being a good, decent, respectable person will mean that others will see you as weak, vulnerable, and easy to manipulate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/thinking-that-being-a-good-decent-respectable-person-will-mean-that/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [What I need to do is have a great positive attitude and a great work ethic. Those two things validate me. Yes, it's important…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-robinson/what-i-need-to-do-is-have-a-great-positive-attitude-and-a-great-work/) [David Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-robinson/) > [There is no road to wealth so easy and respectable as that of matrimony.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/there-is-no-road-to-wealth-so-easy-and-respectable-as-that-of/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) > [The whole force of the respectable circles to which I belonged, that respectable circle which knew as I did notthe value of security won,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-tarbell/the-whole-force-of-the-respectable-circles-to-which-i-belonged-that/) [Ida Tarbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-tarbell/) > [Since it is impossible for the people spontaneously and universally, to move in concert towards their object; and it is therefore essential, that such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/since-it-is-impossible-for-the-people-spontaneously-and-universally/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) > [There are, after all, atheists who say they wish the fable were true but are unable to suspend the requisite disbelief, or who have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/there-are-after-all-atheists-who-say-they-wish-the-fable-were-true/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [As a social and as a personal force, religion has become a dependent variable. It does not originate; it reacts. It does not denounce;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-wright-mills/as-a-social-and-as-a-personal-force-religion-has-become-a-dependent/) [C. Wright Mills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-wright-mills/) > [Translating is a respectable, valuable, creative and worthwhile use of a human brain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bellos/translating-is-a-respectable-valuable-creative-and-worthwhile-use-of/) David Bellos > [Gambling has held human beings in thrall for millennia. It has been engaged in everywhere, from the dregs of society to the most respectable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-l-bernstein/gambling-has-held-human-beings-in-thrall-for-millennia-it-has-been/) [Peter L. Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-l-bernstein/) ## More by Robert Towne > [I think Los Angeles certainly grew out and grew up, but I don't think it matured. It lost the appeal and the hunger and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-towne/i-think-los-angeles-certainly-grew-out-and-grew-up-but-i-don-t-think/) [Robert Towne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-towne/) > [If you can find meaning in the type of running you need todo to stay on this team, chances are you can find meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-towne/if-you-can-find-meaning-in-the-type-of-running-you-need-todo-to-stay/) [Robert Towne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-towne/) > [Good dialogue illuminates what people are not saying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-towne/good-dialogue-illuminates-what-people-are-not-saying/) [Robert Towne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-towne/) > [You're torn between wanting to fill in all the spaces and knowing that's really going to screw up the screenplay. And yet, how are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-towne/you-re-torn-between-wanting-to-fill-in-all-the-spaces-and-knowing/) [Robert Towne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-towne/) > [It was not possible to film in California, because all the areas are heavily built up now. Coming to Cape Town is an invitation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-towne/it-was-not-possible-to-film-in-california-because-all-the-areas-are/) [Robert Towne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-towne/) > [“Forget it, Jake -- it's Chinatown.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-towne/forget-it-jake-it-s-chinatown/) [Robert Towne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-towne/) > [And I think one way or another it's evident to those who work with me that as a writer, a director, a friend, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-towne/and-i-think-one-way-or-another-it-s-evident-to-those-who-work-with-me/) [Robert Towne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-towne/) > [Now they're attracted to one another, but repelled by their ethnic origins, so that there was something to overcome. They had to overcome their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-towne/now-they-re-attracted-to-one-another-but-repelled-by-their-ethnic/) [Robert Towne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-towne/) > [Politicians, ugly buildings, and whores all get respectable if they last long enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-towne/politicians-ugly-buildings-and-whores-all-get-respectable-if-they/) [Robert Towne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-towne/) > [Larry Grobel senses there are no answers in life, only questions. Good ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-towne/larry-grobel-senses-there-are-no-answers-in-life-only-questions-good/) [Robert Towne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-towne/) > [I think that those are the things that you can uniquely do with film that are difficult to do anywhere else: they can bring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-towne/i-think-that-those-are-the-things-that-you-can-uniquely-do-with-film/) [Robert Towne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-towne/) > [“You must be dumber than you think I think you are.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-towne/you-must-be-dumber-than-you-think-i-think-you-are/) [Robert Towne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-towne/) > [The straight roads are the roads of progress, the crooked roads are thee roads of genius.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-towne/the-straight-roads-are-the-roads-of-progress-the-crooked-roads-are/) [Robert Towne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-towne/) > [People who can't think of anything else but whether the person you love is indented or convex should be doomed not to think of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-towne/people-who-can-t-think-of-anything-else-but-whether-the-person-you/) [Robert Towne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-towne/) > [Either you bring the water to L.A. or you bring L.A. to the water.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-towne/either-you-bring-the-water-to-l-a-or-you-bring-l-a-to-the-water/) [Robert Towne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-towne/) [Explore all 33 Robert Towne quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-towne/) ## More Politics quotes > [Sentiment is the mightiest force in civilization; not sentimentality, but sentiment. Women will bring this into politics. Home, sweet home, is as powerful on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-ellen-foster/sentiment-is-the-mightiest-force-in-civilization-not-sentimentality/) [Judith Ellen Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-ellen-foster/) > [Crony capitalism is essentially a condition in which... public officials are giving favours to people in the private sector in payment of political favours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/crony-capitalism-is-essentially-a-condition-in-which-public-officials/) [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) > [“Only careful political manoeuvring will be able to manage the situation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/davan-yahya-khalil/only-careful-political-manoeuvring-will-be-able-to-manage-the/) Davan Yahya Khalil > [We could form a government of national unity fighting corruption. The ordinary Afghan is sick and tired of it, because it's she or he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashraf-ghani/we-could-form-a-government-of-national-unity-fighting-corruption-the/) [Ashraf Ghani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashraf-ghani/) > [Politics is not an issue whether you like or dislike , but every citizen must involve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khem-veasna/politics-is-not-an-issue-whether-you-like-or-dislike-but-every/) [Khem Veasna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khem-veasna/) > [For the Scottish government, the practice of having meetings in different parts of the country is well established, but for the U.K. government, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-sturgeon/for-the-scottish-government-the-practice-of-having-meetings-in/) [Nicola Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-sturgeon/) > [“The global population of Earth are involved in the following corporate government experiments: The long term effects of - 1. Nuclear bomb fallout radiation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/the-global-population-of-earth-are-involved-in-the-following/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [Scepticism and cynicism about politics is so great that one of the best counters to it is what you can do at a local…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-miliband/scepticism-and-cynicism-about-politics-is-so-great-that-one-of-the/) [Ed Miliband](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-miliband/) > [Right now we're concerned about budget. Right now we're concerned about the prospect of interest rate rise. We're concerned about government corruption, government handing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amity-shlaes/right-now-we-re-concerned-about-budget-right-now-we-re-concerned/) [Amity Shlaes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amity-shlaes/) > [One of the worst things to come out of the Consumer Protection Board's misleading claims is the impression that government resources are to hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-lesko/one-of-the-worst-things-to-come-out-of-the-consumer-protection-board/) [Matthew Lesko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-lesko/) > [“Jim Reston: Walking through the crowds of air-kissing politicians, actors and high fliers, it was tough to tell where the politics stopped and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-morgan/jim-reston-walking-through-the-crowds-of-air-kissing-politicians/) [Peter Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-morgan/) > [We have to build our own power. We have to win every single political office we can, where we have a majority of black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/we-have-to-build-our-own-power-we-have-to-win-every-single-political/) [Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/) > [The notion of a non-religious Christmas is ridiculous. But so is the insistence on the part of Christians that politicians and retailers carry out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-campos-duffy/the-notion-of-a-non-religious-christmas-is-ridiculous-but-so-is-the/) [Rachel Campos-Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-campos-duffy/) > [A man who kills on his own is a murderer. A man who kills at his government's request is a national hero.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramman-kenoun/a-man-who-kills-on-his-own-is-a-murderer-a-man-who-kills-at-his/) [Ramman Kenoun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramman-kenoun/) > [Politics in Philadelphia is a contact sport.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-nutter/politics-in-philadelphia-is-a-contact-sport/) [Michael Nutter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-nutter/) [Browse all 44,914 Politics quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Of course I'm respectable. I'm old. Politicians, ugly buildings, and whores all get respectable if they last long enough.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert Towne" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-towne/of-course-i-m-respectable-i-m-old-politicians-ugly-buildings-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Politics" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-towne/of-course-i-m-respectable-i-m-old-politicians-ugly-buildings-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/779/robert-towne-18966_politics_of-course-i-m-respectable-i-m-old-politi_423260.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/779/robert-towne-18966_politics_of-course-i-m-respectable-i-m-old-politi_423260.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/779/robert-towne-18966_politics_of-course-i-m-respectable-i-m-old-politi_423260.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Of course I'm respectable. I'm old. Politicians, ugly buildings, and whores all get respectable if they last…” — Robert Towne", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Robert Towne", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-towne/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Of course I'm respectable. I'm old....", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-towne/of-course-i-m-respectable-i-m-old-politicians-ugly-buildings-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-towne/of-course-i-m-respectable-i-m-old-politicians-ugly-buildings-and/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```