An honest politician is one who, when he is bought, will stay bought.

His corruption was so notorious that a Pennsylvania congressman Thaddeus Stevens when discussing Cameron's honesty with Lincoln told Lincoln that "I don't think that he would steal a red hot stove. Donald Cameron and only resigned from the Senate upon confirmation that his son would succeed him. Lincoln as part of a political bargain named Cameron Secretary of War.

Simon Cameron (March 8 1799 – June 26 1889) was an American politician who served as United States Secretary of War for Abraham Lincoln at the start of the American Civil War. Cameron became the minister to Russia during the Civil War but was overseas for less than a year. He only served a year before resigning amidst corruption.