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" The 2016 presidential election is ripe for the emergence of a game-changing political leader who either dramatically reforms one of the existing parties or mounts an independent bid. "

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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. "

Ron Fournier

Nothing

Own

Victory

" According to a Public Policy Polling survey, most Americans find lice and colonoscopies more appealing than Capitol Hill. "

" In the time it takes to heat a TV dinner, Clinton had convinced me that he was the smartest person in the room and that I was the center of his attention. In the next 25 years, I would see countless others fall just as quickly to the Clinton Touch. "

" American exceptionalism is the recurring character in the nation's narrative. "

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

" By nominating Chuck Hagel to be his Defense secretary, President Obama is putting forward an aloof contrarian who doesn't suffer fools - a striving politician who considers himself above politics. "

" President Obama is casting his lot in the middle of a debate as old as America itself: Are we rugged individualists pulling ourselves up by the bootstraps? Or are we a nation of community, all connected and counting on one another? "

" Political reporters and political professionals rushed to judgment against Romney because we crave clear, unambiguous story lines. "

" Palin seems to have forgotten that her poll ratings have plummeted since the summer of 2011. "

" 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. "

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

" 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. "

Ron Fournier

Career

Friends

" At his best, Obama promised to work with Republicans to reduce the deficit in a way that honors both individualism and community. "

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

" 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. "

Ron Fournier

You

Greatness

" Obama is capable - as evidenced by his first-term success with health care reform. But mandate-building requires humility, a trait not easily associated with him. "

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

" Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is the most influential woman in Washington - for what she has accomplished and for what she may yet do: win the presidency. "

" 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? "

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

" Voters don't have to love him, Romney advisers say, but they will respect him. "

" Climate change was a point of division between Obama and Republican rival Mitt Romney. The president declared climate change a global threat, acknowledged that the actions of humanity were deepening the crisis, and pledged to do something about it if elected. "

" The deck is stacked against Obama. "

" With gridlock the norm, Congress's approval rating is below 10 percent and the public has lost faith in its national leadership. "

" 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. "

Ron Fournier

Talent

News

" 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. "

" We're living in an era of unprecedented change, and I want to be a part of documenting it. "

" Obama shows no sign of easing up on negativity. "

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

" One side of the American psyche wants smaller government, lower taxes, and more choices for individuals, even if those choices increase risk. The other wants a strong social safety net to protect the weakest among us, even if it costs more to minimize risk. "