As in nature, politics abhors a vacuum. Without a strong voice for more moderate leadership, the Tea Party is filling that vacuum.
— Mark McKinnon
Life inside the Beltway bubble dulls your thinking.
Mitt Romney is a nice guy. But, we know where nice guys finish in politics.
Normally, when politicians talk about 'cutting the budget,' they really mean reducing the amount of increase. Actual spending goes up while the politicians claim to have 'cut the budget.'
Mitt Romney is a businessman, a turnaround artist, a CEO. That is who he is. The former governor has experience in the public and private sector.
America as we know it will end unless we end Medicare as we know it.
Technology and social media have brought power back to the people.
Running for president is hard. But it's good preparation. Because being president is a lot harder.
Temporary tax cuts don't create permanent confidence, nor permanent jobs.
The job of elected leaders is to deliver results that represent the interests of the citizens who placed them in a position of authority with their voice, their vote. But these days, money talks louder.
The press doesn't just cover presidential campaigns, they influence them by making arbitrary decisions about who is 'top tier' and merits coverage.
Ah, political physics. Someone wins an election and, poof, they are a candidate for vice president. Ridiculous.
Convention speeches are powerful tools to bend the curve of public opinion. George H. W. Bush's 1988 convention speech is a great example. His son's speech was also quite powerful.
The office of the president is the most powerful in the world. It is also, at times, the most powerless.
Consumers can choose from hundreds of channels today, including dozens for kids. At a time of dwindling resources, we don't need to be subsidizing PBS. It's time for Big Bird the mooch to compete with 'Dora the Explorer' and 'Bob the Builder.'
I don't really care how or why Obama got to the right place on gay marriage. I'm just glad he got there.
A competition of the best ideas - that should be what Congress is about.
America's commitment to religious freedom and tolerance should not be conditional.
Public employees contribute real value for the benefit of all citizens. Public-union bosses collect real money from all taxpayers for the benefit of a few.
Elections are about the future. And the GOP will not win a campaign focused on the past.
Sarah Palin is brilliant. She is a media magnet and a media magnate. She creates headlines and draws crowds wherever she goes, whether it's 98 degrees in the desert of Arizona or below freezing in the snow of Wisconsin.
Voters crave authenticity.
A troubled economy is always the sitting president's fault. It was when Ronald Reagan defeated Jimmy Carter, when Bill Clinton defeated George H.W. Bush, and when Barack Obama defeated John McCain by running against George W. Bush.
Presidential primary debates are an important part of our political process. But the media has wrested complete control from the parties and candidates over everything, including the number, the format, the qualifications, and the moderators. And they've become a circus.
Debates require a lot of hard work and preparation. If you try to wing it, it shows.
Wages, investments, and home values are the three legs of the economic stool for most Americans.
Advocacy groups and voters are not wrong to push candidates to declare their position clearly on policy issues. That is good citizenship. Hard questions should be asked of every candidate, every politician. And those public servants should be prepared to answer, but in their own words.
Conservative women in politics run a punishing gauntlet. They endure psychological evaluations and near-gynecological exams their male and liberal counterparts do not.
Reasonable people can reasonably disagree on policy.
In politics, not all lies are all lies. And not all truths are complete.
If we cannot come together to pause, to respect our dead and the heroic lives of meaning they led, then ours is truly a civilization lost.
There's no question that many factors contribute to voters' perceptions about debates and who wins and who loses.
Obama killed Osama. Yes, President Barack Obama gets to crow about the killing of Osama bin Laden.
The world is still changing. Faster than ever. And so should the Republican Party. Or condemn itself to a smaller and smaller base of core supporters and permanent minority status.
Defending birthright citizenship is about being on the right side of liberty. The 14th Amendment is a great legacy of the Republican Party.
Public unions are big money.
One thing is clear: Ron Paul defies labels.
CEOs make hard decisions; sometimes, the least worst is the right one.
The Hippocratic Oath says do no harm. It's the Hypocritical Oath that says do no harm to one's political future.
A messy participatory process is representative democracy at its best.
To pull off successful attacks in debates, you have to execute with nuance and subtlety. It has to be artful.
Infrastructure spending does not create immediate jobs, and more than half of those jobs will pull from the pool of the already employed.
Marketers know - no matter how deep the emotional connection or brand loyalty - when a product does not perform, rational thought overtakes emotion, and most consumers make a new choice.
Weary of wily politicians who say one thing and do another, voters and advocacy groups insist presidential contenders commit to the cause du jour in writing, but candidates are foolish to comply. Words matter.
Contrary to conventional military and game theory, the most effective offense is sometimes a direct attack against your political opponent's greatest strength - not his weaknesses - to place him immediately on the defensive.
I've slipped on occasion into the realm of irresponsible invective, but I try to avoid it and generally recant when I fall short. Because name-calling does nothing to improve understanding or move the political debate forward.
Outside events can change a presidential campaign, a president, and the history of the nation: the Iranian hostage crisis, the bombing of the Marine barracks in Beirut, the downing of the helicopter in Mogadishu, Somalia, the suicide attack on the USS Cole, and, of course, the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
I took a lot of heat from Republicans when I stepped out of John McCain's campaign after the 2008 primaries. I still supported McCain, and voted for him, but I just didn't want to be the tip of the spear attacking Obama.
A failure to act is a terrible, stunning legacy for any leader. But far worse when it is the president of the United States. And that's the point driven home by Romney's selection of Ryan, who dared to lead when Obama did not.
Immigration reform almost happened under President George W. Bush. Twice. And it was comprehensive.
