John MacLachlan Gray Quotes

Compare the emotional vocabulary available to a leader (confidence, satisfaction, indignation) with the emotions not permitted (regret, embarrassment, dread, angst, mortification, anger, surprise, wonder, doubt), and it becomes apparent why perfectly normal people, upon entering public life, transform into cartoons - because they are not free to express what a normal person would feel in their situation.

One of the criteria by which we measure the worth of public figures is whether or not their brand of bull is in step with the current Zeitgeist.