Deepest Emotion

I once heard a quotation or proverb that explains a lot of politics. I have not been able to identify the source of the quote. It is “The deepest emotion ever felt by a person in a position of power is the desire to stay there.”

It is sometime puzzling why a Presidential candidate will criticize the incumbent for his policies and then, when he himself holds the office adopts many of the policies of his predecessor that he criticized. This proverb explains some of that behavior.

Similarly, it is sometimes puzzling to some how people with very liberal attitudes about free speech, free press, protection from surveillance, and so on, once they are in a position of power then clamp down on these things.