To err is human. To blame someone else is politics.

The quip adapts the ancient maxim “To err is human” (popularized in English by Alexander Pope) into a modern political aphorism. It contrasts ordinary fallibility—mistakes as a universal human condition—with a specifically political reflex: deflecting responsibility by assigning fault to others. The humor depends on the sharp turn from moral reflection to cynical realism, suggesting that politics often rewards blame-shifting more than accountability. Read as satire, it criticizes partisan scapegoating and the strategic use of error as a weapon rather than an occasion for correction. It also implies an ethical standard for public life: leaders should acknowledge mistakes rather than convert them into attacks.