Anybody who tells you that this year is even comparable to 2002 or 2004 is smoking crack. |
Every front-runner stumbles and it's a question of who is best positioned to take advantage of that, |
Every front-runner stumbles and it's a question of who is best positioned to take advantage of that. |
For the president to promote his agenda, he has to use Congress to move forward and change the subject. But it is difficult to get out of the hole that you dug when in fact your allies are also running for the hills. |
He has no political capital. Slowly but surely it's been unraveling. There's been a direct correlation between the trajectory of his approval numbers and the -- I don't want to call it disloyalty -- the independence on the part of the Republicans in Congress. |
I applaud the McCain people, they've gotten a good ride. |
I don't know that the rocky start is as important as what people see at the end of the day. The real rubber meets the road when they see what their expectations were versus what they actually get. |
I don't think there is an anti-war movement, ... What Republicans have to be concerned about is if this frustration turns out to be the fulcrum for votes. That could spell some punishment for Republicans. |
If the issue were Social Security or the budget, you could change the way you talked about it. The problem is that the issue that has become the centerpiece [of Bush's presidency] is beyond their control. The first rule of crisis management is, when you're in a hole, stop digging. But the White House isn't holding the shovel, and the hole is being dug for them. |
It could make the difference between winning and losing in a number of congressional districts. |
It seems like it's been one misstep after another. It's lousy. The national political environment is not hospitable to Republicans. |
That can hurt Republicans in very, very close races. If there is no enthusiasm, or if the backbone of the street organization feels disenfranchised or disillusioned, there is no reason for them to go out and do anything. |
The fact that Weld is the leading contender speaks volumes about the state of the New York GOP. How can there be no homegrown contender groomed and prepared to take on someone like Spitzer? The need for them to call on a former Governor of Massachusetts, a guy to the left of Pataki, when they know all too well that they are toast this time around if they don't field someone acceptable to conservatives is just amazing. |
The fractures were always there. The difference was the White House was always able to hold them in line because of perceived power, ... After Tuesday's election, it's 'Why are we following these guys? They're taking us off the cliff.' |
The Gore people find themselves in a situation similar to us in terms of the electoral map. They are having to defend turf they shouldn't have to defend. |