Comments on: “Hat” theory of public office

By: Ron Coleman

Ron Coleman — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 00:51:45 +0000

It’s a misquote, Richard, though you are ultimately correct. The correct quote is, “Great men are almost always _bald_ men.”

Hence the hats.

By: Richard Nieporent

Richard Nieporent — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 12:58:40 +0000

This is not a new observation. Lord Acton, stated the following in a letter to Bishop Mandell Creighton in 1887: “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men.”

By: Pete Warden

Pete Warden — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 22:36:06 +0000

There’s actually strong research evidence that power does affect people at a very deep level, turning otherwise decent people them into jerks:
http://bobsutton.typepad.com/my_weblog/2007/01/it_isnt_just_a_.html

Of course there’s also the more cynical tradition, that people don’t change, they just reveal themselves….