I’m enjoying HBO’s 7-part miniseries on John Adams, via Netflix.

It puts me in mind not of my favorite John Adams quotes, but the ones that suggest that American political commentary hasn’t changed in 250 years.

“All the perplexities, confusion and distress in America arise, not from defects in their Constitution or Confederation, not from want of honor or virtue, so much as from the downright ignorance of the nature of coin, credit and circulation.”

“Fear is the foundation of most governments.”

“Great is the guilt of an unnecessary war.”

“In politics the middle way is none at all.”