Get QuoteDark Inspirational Quotes App

" We, the people. Manifest Destiny. Conceived in liberty. Fear itself. Ask not. Morning in America. United we stand. Yes, we can. In times of great change and tumult, presidents seek to inspire beleaguered Americans by reminding them of their national identity. "

Related Quotes:

" 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

" 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. "

" 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. "

" 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. "

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

" Although we were never pals and occasionally butted heads, my relationship with Clinton and his wife, Hillary, made me a better journalist. "

Ron Fournier

Relationship

Never

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

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

" 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. "

" Clearly, the Obama presidency hasn't wiped out racial prejudices. "

" 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 concrete agenda and landslide victory might not even guarantee a president his mandate in a capital as polarized as Washington. "

" The deck is stacked against Obama. "

" Mandates are rarely won on election night. They are earned after Inauguration Day by leaders who spend their political capital wisely, taking advantage of events without overreaching. "

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

" 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. "

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

" The failure of the White House and Congress to seriously address the nation's fiscal situation is certain to broaden the belief among many voters that the U.S. political system is broken. "

" 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 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. "

" Obama considers himself above deal-making and back-slapping, political necessities he often delegates to Vice President Joe Biden and other lesser sorts. "

" 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. "

" 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. "

" Romney and Democratic rival President Obama have led their partisan backers down a trail of lies, negativity and vacuous policies that seem certain to guarantee an angry electorate four more years of gridlock. "

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

" 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. "

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

" 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. "

" Most Tea Party activists consider Obama a big-spending liberal. Some even question his eligibility to be president. "

" 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. "