You've all seen the quote by H.L Mencken - "As democracy is perfected, the office represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron."
First published in a The Evening Sun article on 26 July 1920 in an article called "Bayard vs Lionheart," it's a great quote and one that has been used many times to lampoon presidents. The only problem is that it is incorrect.
The entire quote in the original article actually reads like this:-
“The larger the mob, the harder the test. In small areas, before small electorates, a first-rate man occasionally fights his way through, carrying even the mob with him by the force of his personality. But when the field is nationwide, and the fight must be waged chiefly at second and third hand, and the force of personality cannot so readily make itself felt, then all the odds are on the man who is, intrinsically, the most devious and mediocre—the man who can most adeptly disperse the notion that his mind is a virtual vacuum.
The Presidency tends, year by year, to go to such men. As democracy is perfected, the office of the president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. We move toward a lofty ideal. On some great and glorious day, the plain folk of the land will reach their heart's desire at last, and the White House will be occupied by a downright fool and a complete narcissistic moron."
