There is literally no such thing as an idea that cannot be expressed well and articulately to today's voters in thirty seconds.
Yes' is a far more potent word than 'no' in American politics. By adopting the positions which animate the political agenda for the other side, one can disarm them and leave them sputtering with nothing to say.
Like the battleships of old, omnibus programs present too tempting a target, too easily destroyed by a single attack, to make it through a fight.... It is through incremental change after change, step after step, that a statesman of today can vindicate a bold vision.
The typical presidential staff resents the vice-president even more than they do the first lady.
Rebut the negative, and the opposing campaign has not merely lost a skirmish, it has suffered almost irreparable damage. An effective rebuttal makes it hard for the campaign whose ad is destroyed to be believed about anything ever again.
The key to running a campaign on the cheap is to avoid spending money on anything other than projecting a message.
Often GOP political strategy seems like the human wave theory of the Chinese military translated to politics. Where Beijing uses masses of soldiers to overwhelm their adversaries, the GOP uses huge campaign budgets as a substitute for strategy, thought or issues.
A politician can do what he thinks is right, he just has to be sophisticated in how he goes about it. Those who seek a president who 'will disregard the polls and just lead,' ask for the political equivalent of 'The Charge of the Light Brigade.'
The White House will run itself while the president is away. That's why he has to be sure not to be away too much.
In fighting scandal, the key is not to overreact.
There is no substitute for a clear vision and a decisive direction.
Leadership is a dynamic tension between where a politician thinks his country must go and where his voters want it to go.
The opposing party rarely causes so much angst as does one's own.
The most basic decision a modern politician must make is whether to be aggressive or conciliatory.
The greater informational levels of the voters, their decreasing inhibitions in expressing disagreement, and their greater preference for Jeffersonian direct involvement, all make the need for a 'permanent campaign' to sell a president's policies all the more crucial.
Today, a politician does not just need public support to win elections; he needs it to govern.
Spin is overrated. It is strategy, not spin, that wins elections.
The Darwinian adaptive trait of our time is the ability to figure out when we are being lied to on television.
It is from the center that leaders must lead.
Take whatever position you want, but do take a position, because once you do, ample money awaits you on either side.
Every donation received is a potential negative ad. Vetting money is just as important as raising it.