Political Quotes

“Mr. President, there is a quote that has long been attributed to St. Augustine, who, during his conversion to Christianity, famously uttered a prayer: Lord, help me be chaste. Grant me chastity, but not yet. The idea behind this is as old as human nature itself, which is that it is easier to have a thought of doing something later than to do that thing now, especially when it is a difficult task. It is one of the reasons New Year's resolutions often result in a spike, an abrupt increase in gym enrollments and memberships. People develop New Year's resolutions; they decide they are going to lose weight; they are going to exercise more; they are going to eat less. Then it becomes more difficult as time goes by, and perhaps over time, some of them might find it easier to say: Well, I will lose weight later in the year. After starting the new year off to a good start, they might say: Well, I will lose more weight in the last half of the year. Later in the year it might occur to them that they will lose more weight in the last 2 months of the year. Regardless, as they continue to delay that moment, the task doesn't get easier; it often gets harder. The budget and spending and debt limit deal that was announced earlier this week reminds me a little bit of this aspect of human nature. It is understandable why this happens.…”