“…ambition is more predictable than principle…”

That’s from “In Enemy Hands” by David Weber. And no, that’s not the novel I referred to in an earlier post this week. (What?!? There are folks who read fewer than 6-10 books/week? ;-))

Sad that the micro-excerpt quoted as this post’s title really is true. Sad because principle ought to be completely predictable but is not because so many people compromise what they falsely call their “principles”. So, what that really means is that when someone takes a “principled stand” there’s a very good chance (about 99% in politics, I’d say) that person is lying through their teeth about their “principles” and is merely acting as though some high ethic were driving his ambition.

One will not often go far wrong when estimating the venality of politicians as overriding any “principled” stand–unless one were to rightly divine a politician’s prime motivator, his principles, as being grounded in ONLY “What’s in it for me.”