The Republican base can be as intense as it wants, but if you are going to lose independents nationally by 15 [percentage] points, it doesn't matter. |
The tail is wagging the dog. While the conservative leadership feels Bush is betraying them, the average rank and file conservative doesn't feel that way. |
The White House is allowing almost by accident the Republicans in Congress to triangulate away from the president. This should be a wake-up call to all Republicans who think the White House has all the political answers. |
There is a growing, deep-seated discontentment and pessimism about the direction of the country. |
There's always going to be some type of scandal. It's just the nature of people. When you have so much at stake, people are going to use anything in their power to try to win. That's what this is all about. |
These are numbers the White House should take notice of when they are looking at the conservative base. |
These numbers are scary. We've lost every advantage we've ever had. |
These numbers are scary. We've lost every advantage we've ever had. The good news is Democrats don't have much of a plan. The bad news is they may not need one. |
This is where good policy and good politics part ways. |
We're in a tough environment. And if more information comes out [in the Libby case], it could be even tougher. |
White suburban voters who voted for George Bush are disaffected now. Would I rather be talking about immigration reform with these voters or the war? Immigration reform or gasoline prices? Sometimes, in order to avoid or avert the tidal wave, you have to do things that short-term make a little more sense than they do in the long term. |