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" Like a cowboy saddling a bucking stallion, Republican leaders tried to tame the Tea Party while riding it to victories. "

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" Barack Obama won a second term but no mandate. Thanks in part to his own small-bore and brutish campaign, victory guarantees the president nothing more than the headache of building consensus in a gridlocked capital on behalf of a polarized public. "

" Say what you want to say about the rest of his presidency, including his tone-deaf response to Katrina and a war waged in Iraq on false pretenses, Bush connected with Americans in the aftermath of 9/11 because he looked as frail and unforgiving as we felt. "

" In Washington, compromise has become a dirty word. "

" The fact that Obama is getting criticism from the left and the right might reflect his understanding of the underlying political dynamics. "

" Obama ran a hard-edged and negative campaign against Romney, hoping to convince recession-weary voters that his rival was unworthy of the job. "

" Anything may be possible in America, but a Palin presidency is virtually implausible. "

" To be fair, my analysis failed to spell out Obama's first-term accomplishments, although I did acknowledge his 'enormous skills' and tried to focus readers on the distinction between good and great presidencies. "

" Anything can go wrong in a debate, and Obama is not a perfect debater. "

" Andrew Jackson was the first president to claim that the desires of the public overrode Congress's constitutional prerogatives. Virtually every president since Jackson has claimed the mantle, even while lacking two ingredients of an electoral mandate: a landslide victory and a specific agenda. "

" Sitting in the Oval Office, beneath a painting of George Washington, with a bust of Martin Luther King Jr. over his right shoulder and a bust of Abraham Lincoln over his left shoulder, Obama told 'National Journal' that the country's economic woes are deep and endemic. "

" It's an appeal as old as America and its presidency: This is an extraordinary country populated by hard-working, big-dreaming, freedom-loving people graced by God when they're not pulling themselves up by the bootstraps. "

" It's a bit unfair to accuse Obama of dividing the nation when the facts show that it already is. "

" Close elections tend to break toward the challenger because undecided voters - having held out so long against the incumbent - are by nature looking for change. "

" If acknowledging that racial misgivings and misunderstandings are still a part of politics and life in America, I plead guilty. "

" In times of tumult, voters are likely to forgive a president, if not reward him, for compromises made in service of solutions. "

" Republicans would have preferred the court overturn the health care bill, an act that would have underscored Obama's biggest liability - the perception among voters, including those who like and trust him, that he has been ineffective. "

" Obama might do well to remember that his fast rise from the Illinois state Senate was due in large part to an uncanny ability to make friends and find mentors. "

" Somebody must be up and somebody must be down. Trouble is, campaigns are messy, subtle creatures that don't follow convenient narratives. "

" Movies such as 'Mr. Smith Goes to Washington' in 1939 to 'Dave' in 1993 portray Washington leaders as the ultimate Everymen - decent people just like you and me, only thrust onto greatness. "

" Hollywood has a history of raising expectations beyond Washington's reach, of appealing to the very American desire to mythologize political leaders, particularly the president. "

" Most political journalists come to Washington because they're snappy writers, big thinkers, or news breakers. Me? My ticket to the big leagues had little to do with talent. It was mostly about the governor I was covering, Bill Clinton. "

" Election night is the easiest time to act like a grownup. "

" Don't underestimate questions from the crowd; technology has made voters more informed than ever. "

" AP promoted me to the White House beat because I knew Clinton, his family, friends, and staff better than anybody in the national press corps. Those contacts helped me break a few stories and get my career in Washington jump-started. "

" President George W. Bush won reelection in 2004 largely because he was seen as comfortable in his own skin, while rival John Kerry was viewed as a flip-flopping opportunist. "

" Blending hard-bitten realism with long-view optimism, Obama said that every 20 or 30 years brings a new cycle of pessimism in America. "

" A presidential debate is a job interview. And voters look for certain traits in people applying to be president. "

" I'm hearing echoes of Bill Clinton, circa 1996, in President Obama's reelection rhetoric. "

" At the start of his second term, one wonders less about Obama's fitness than his willingness: Why doesn't he do more to build and maintain the relationships required to govern in era of polarization? "

" Every now and then, a presidential candidate surprises us with a truly human and honest moment. "