… is from page 87 of Thomas Sowell’s September 29th, 2009, National Review essay titled “The Brainy Bunch” as this essay is reprinted in Sowell’s 2010 collection, Dismantling America:
Many crucial things in life are learned from experience, rather than from clever thoughts or clever words. Indeed, a gift for the clever phrasing so admired today by the media can be a fatal talent, especially for someone chosen to lead a government.