He admitted that he was far more artful than wise, far more dexterous than able, but held that artfulness and dexterity were objections rather than recommendations, while he thought a systematic statesman should have a theory.
This statement reflects a belief in the importance of theoretical grounding in political leadership.
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If Joel Weed lived as a beggar, Thurlow thought as a king.
This reduced the question to ratification or secession.
As he lived, so he died, a strange, lonely, unhappy man, out of tune with the beautiful world in which he was permitted to exist upward of four score years.
Perhaps, on the whole, nothing in Van Buren's official life showed greater political courage or discernment.
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