The Patriot Post® · Tuesday Short Cuts

Insight: “A State which dwarfs its men, in order that they may be more docile instruments in its hands — even for beneficial purposes — will find that with small men no great thing can really be accomplished.” —John Stuart Mill (1806-1873)

Upright: “When the two meet, Mr. Trump will be in a strong position — but not as strong as he imagines. He needs Mr. Ryan more than Mr. Ryan needs him. The speaker is the leader of a large bloc of Republicans that is assertive, influential and intellectually important. Mr. Trump would be wise to take Mr. Ryan’s concerns seriously. … Months ago, Mr. Trump said Mr. Ryan would ‘pay a big price’ if the speaker declined to endorse him. That was during the primaries, when Mr. Trump didn’t need Mr. Ryan. Now he does — or he’ll be the one who pays the big price.” —WSJ’s Fred Barnes

Most reluctant endorsement ever? “I think electing Donald Trump would be the second-worst thing we could do this November, better only than electing Hillary Clinton to serve as the third term for the Obama administration’s radical policies. I am not pretending that Mr. Trump has suddenly become a conservative champion or even a reliable Republican: He is completely unpredictable. The problem is that Hillary is predictably liberal.” —Bobby Jindal announcing he’ll vote for Trump

That’s exactly what the argument is about: “I always take classified material seriously. There’s no argument about that that I’m aware of.” —Hillary Clinton

Braying Jackass: “The future demands from us something more than a nostalgia for some rose-tinted version of the past that did not really exist in any case. You’re about to graduate into a complex and borderless world.” —John Kerry in a commencement address

And last… “The solution here might be that the North Carolina governor could say that we don’t identify as North Carolina anymore, and therefore your lawsuit against us is irrelevant.” —Rush Limbaugh