Consensus Quotations

The areas of consensus shift unbelievably fast; the bubbles of certainty are constantly exploding.

The art market is global now, and there's becoming more of an international consensus about what constitutes good art.

A quarter-century after the end of the Vietnam War, and eleven years after the collapse of the Berlin wall, it has become commonplace to say that we Americans have no consensus on foreign policy. Across the political spectrum, left or right, most Americans still cling to whatever assumptions they held during our long journey through the Cold War.

Consensus wisdom has it that all modern commercial fantasy novels fall into two camps: those derived from J.R.R. Tolkien and those derived from Mervyn Peake. The 'Lord of the Rings' template or the 'Gormenghast' mold.

Ultimately a genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus.

The general consensus seems to be that I don't act at all

Yet the effort to inform the public also encouraged responsible public discussion that succeeded in developing a consensus for the measured approach that many scientists supported.

There is universal consensus among experts that the earth's atmosphere is heating up - and that we are responsible for it by putting carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. We also know that the consequences of global warming are catastrophic. But how do we make sure that all countries reduce greenhouse gases?

The Obama administration's attempted short-term fixes, even with unprecedented monetary easing by the Federal Reserve, produced average GDP growth of just 2.2% over the past three years, and the consensus outlook appears no better for the year ahead.

After a week of back and forth, and forth and back over firearms, it's good to see a consensus developing on this common-sense amendment to keep handguns away from children.

Then I sit down, work at it, because now I have a convincing feeling about what that place wants to be, you see? And it's not just me. Me and my talent comes in taking that consensus and then making something wonderful out of it - a work of art.

There is no consensus, there is no homogeneity, there is no truth.

It's an embarrassment that we don't have a broad enough consensus among political leaders that true reform should take place. I could count the members of Congress on one hand that took these issues seriously.

I strongly believe in political activity that has to do with choices - and not consensus that sometimes covers problems and doesn't resolve them.

Space can vibrate, space can fluctuate, space can be quantum mechanical, but what the devil is it? And, you know, everybody has their own idea about what it is, but there's no coherent final consensus on why there is space.

The military alone cannot end the conflict in Afghanistan. On that much nearly everyone can agree, offering a rare island of consensus among sides otherwise divided on the question of how and when America's longest-ever war should wind down.

Imperfect though it may be, the Beijing Platform for Action is the strongest statement of consensus on women's equality, empowerment and justice ever produced by governments.

There's a growing consensus that the best way to defeat communism in Cuba is to get its citizens hooked on American goods.

There's a bit of debate about that; some say it was really Matthew, but the popular consensus is that Mark was the first one, so that's why I did that one first. And I was planning on doing all four.

Israelis and Palestinians are suspicious of each other and of promises from outside. But the need for a negotiated solution between the parties should not stymie international clarity and consensus about the endgame in terms of borders and other issues.

America is a place where we all come together. It is a place of consensus.

For the moment, machines able to 'think' in anything approaching a human sense remain science-fiction. How we should prepare for their potential emergence, however, is a deeply unsettling question - not least because intelligent machines seem considerably more achievable than any consensus around their programming or consequences.

You can never solve a problem without talking to people with whom you disagree. The United States Senate is predicated and based on consensus building. That was certainly the vision of the founding fathers.

Why is there space rather than no space? Why is space three-dimensional? Why is space big? We have a lot of room to move around in. How come it's not tiny? We have no consensus about these things. We're still exploring them.

Blending consensus historical events and personages with imaginary occult forces is a strong recipe for counterfactual storytelling goodness that combines the best of two worlds: resonant history with wild-eyed fantasy.

I believe that there is a bipartisan consensus to have individual mandates.

That was the first major social sciences conference at which social scientists from all cultures wanted to reach a consensus on whether we can continue to pursue a national course in the social sciences or whether we need a cosmopolitan path that also connects us in a new way.

Consensus building doesn't necessarily fit with my experience.

Consensus doesn't happen by magic... You have to drive to it.

Politics is a herd mentality. Politicians don't really lead. Politicians reflect what they think is consensus opinion.

Clinton saw himself much more as the steward of alliances and of consensus that moved in the right direction. He didn't see himself as someone who could change the overall thrust, I think, of global policy.

We need to codify our values and build consensus around what we want from a free society and a free Internet. We need to put into law protections for our privacy and our right to speak and assemble.

The two most frightening words in Washington are 'bipartisan consensus.' Bipartisan consensus is when my doctor and my lawyer agree with my wife that I need help.

The potential for this play is to sweep the audience into this world that they're not familiar with. Our general consensus about that hillbilly lifestyle is that they're inbred and ignorant, but they're not that type of people. They believe what they believe, and they believe it very strongly.

We believe that there will not be wide consensus and that we should not now discuss reform which could make many countries representing entire continents unhappy,

We believe that the chances of Oracle hitting consensus estimates for its May quarter are low.

There are clearly upside risks around the consensus expectations for non-farm payrolls. As such, we would not be short the U.S. dollar over the next 24 hours.

We still see more downside than upside risk to 2007 consensus earnings.

When you think something has to be done, and you believe it has to be done and the consensus is that it has to be done, you have to do it. And Mike, in some of the things he did when he was here, believed in the same principle.

When you talk to the Republican network in Washington, the consensus is that Rudy is MIA. He is making none of the traditional moves you expect a candidate to make.

When you talk to Iranians, there seems to be a consensus that Iran needs to have a latent nuclear weapons capability; in other words, an option, ... But there is much less agreement about whether it makes sense for Iran to produce nuclear weapons.

We're not going to negotiate some new treaty on climate change ... What this is about is seeing whether it will be possible in the future to bring people back into consensus together. Can we do that? I don't know, but it's important that we at least begin a process of dialogue that allows us to make progress on this.

Until the Palestinians can show that they can act against the terrorist groups, there is going to be a consensus not to give more. If things are quiet for six months then we could begin to see action.

We believe that Compaq also did a good job on the profitability front, which should enable operating margins to more than double from third-quarter levels ... this should lead to earnings-per-share at least several cents higher than the consensus First Call estimates of $0.16.

While management will likely continue to guide conservatively, we expect 2006 outlook will be at least in-line with (analysts' consensus estimate of) $4.18. JC Penney's stepped up branding campaign, which kicks off March 2 and includes a temporary NY store, should drive some sales and more importantly position them for market share gains as industry rationalization frees up share.

Whether or not he's going to sit there and outline his entire (State of the State) proposal, he's not going to do that. Achieving consensus is the point of the Legislature. They're here to conduct the business of the people.

We remain very positive on the home improvement sector and Home Depot's prospects, particularly given current valuation levels. Home Depot shares are currently trading in line with the five-year historic low forward price-to-earnings ratio, based on consensus estimates.

We remain on track for your consensus earnings per share estimate for 2001, which is consistent with our longer term business model.

We're so dependent on foreign capital that, if you could see any weakness in the dollar it could come on Friday with the trade numbers. If we see a sharply above consensus reading for trade, there could be some concern about the sustainability of that trade gap and that could certainly weigh on the dollar.

What a great truth and how good it is that in Mar del Plata President Kirchner has come to say it to millions: the Washington consensus is broken; we are looking for a new model,

We would still oppose the price cap law. I can't imagine that tinkering with it will affect the underlying consensus by experts against this.

We found no consensus among physicians about what is customary or appropriate. Despite efforts to standardize many aspects of the doctor-patient relationship, patients are likely to encounter very different approaches.

Unless there's a consensus on both sides, the implementation of the statements on relief will hit a cul-de-sac. The only institution that provides aid is the army, and if that is not allowed, then the offer is self-defeating.

We reject kings, presidents and voting. We believe in rough consensus and running code.

With the rate verdict due later, there's a cautious mood creeping into equity markets as although a 25-basis-point hike is widely expected, there's little consensus as to just how long the aggressive stance over interest rates will now continue for.

I look for the consensus because the consensus drives the policy into new places.

Worries about an interest rate rise have virtually disappeared, the consensus is now that the Fed won't raise rates, ... Volume is a bit better than yesterday but most of the buying is in half a dozen stocks. Unless we start seeing a broader rally on more volume we can't be convinced that we're out of the woods yet.

We're seeing the Democrats moving toward that position. Senator Kerry will be joined by others. There's going to be a consensus around phased withdrawal.

We're seeing a nice handful of earnings today. That is going to be the driver. The other driver, or the thing that's not going to hold us back this quarter, and I would argue has held us back the last three quarters, is the consensus is the Fed is done for the year, ... We don't have a credit tightening cycle to go through and we're seeing terrific earnings. So I would argue that the focus returns now to earnings growth, revenue growth, the strength of corporate America and not necessarily the macro-economic themes like monetary policy which have been on the forefront for the last couple of quarters.

We've tried to reach consensus with parties on the PIP bill so that we could focus on the real insurance crisis facing out state, which is property insurance.

We want joint decision-making in certain areas which would need consensus 'at 20' and obviously we would work to get it, on the other hand nobody can deny the right of NATO to act as 19 if it decides to do so,

The reform process began with the historic consensus on the Charter of National Action, in which the Bahraini people decided on a new chapter of their history.

Indeed, scientific truth by consensus has had a uniformly bad history.

We share the wish for a national consensus for peace as a passport for the reconstruction of our country.

We have reached a consensus to remain here as this site is the most appropriate one. The massive amount of people need a huge space with strict security measures.

The fact is, there won't be a consensus agreement reached before the deadline. It's not practical given how far apart the two sides are. But there's no light switch today. It's not turning off of one, turning on of the other.

There is broad consensus in Congress to reform the Endangered Species Act,

There is no doubt that there needs to be some scrutiny for them but the government must build a consensus on this.

Science is not about consensus, and consensus is not science.

When the islands became a state in 1959, ... there was a broad consensus in Congress that Native Hawaiians would not be treated as a separate racial group, and that they would not be transformed into an 'Indian tribe.'

The principal reason for Citigroup's shortfall versus consensus was the 10 cents of charges related to Latin America, which were expected. The order of magnitude was harder to ascertain but the fact that they were going to have to take additional charges was expected.

The prime minister is traveling without trying to make consensus here. I prefer to be with the majority.

There are two key challenges to the U.S. market: one is Fed policy -- and it's still our concern that the Fed will be increasing rates this side of Christmas; secondly, it's the slowing corporate earnings outlook. Although corporate earnings are still probably going to rise, I think there's a concern that numbers may come in below consensus and drive the markets down.

Let people try what they want in their states, providing it meets certain standards. It will mean diversity. It's also a way of building consensus over time of what needs to be done, something you can't do if you go nationally initially.

Let us be driven by the responsibilities we have and feel, responsibilities to our respective countries, to humanity, to our one and only planet, ... Let us seek consensus for outcomes that move us all toward substantial solutions. Let us set our sights on an effective, more inclusive, long-term international approach to climate change.

Lebanon is the true land of consensus par excellence,

Many market observers are coming out with the belief that the market will break upward after the election. Such strong consensus views often don't turn out to be a reality.

Many changes can be expected to be made to the legislation during the Senate floor debate. Sen. Lugar hopes the Senate will consider a consensus bill that updates immigration policy in a comprehensive way.

so I hope we can build a consensus around what is a very liberal position on this issue, and that we can give Australians the right that New Zealanders have.

Some analysts seemed to think the company would have an upside surprise, ... But they reported right in line with what the consensus was.

One should not allow a minority or small minority to withhold their consent unreasonably. They should have the courage to vote and take decisions. But they tend to want to get consensus at all costs, and therefore you have 191 vetoes,

My door is always open to any member who wishes to build consensus on reducing unnecessary spending. My preference is to consider any proposal in a thoughtful, deliberate manner rather than reading about it in the newspaper.

More important (than heightened expectations of a policy switch next week) is what sort of policy framework the BOJ can present for the post-quantitative easing era, and there doesn't seem to be a consensus yet on this among the board members.

Numbers were below consensus because they had a big impact from the hurricanes and the closure of Texas City. These were events outside their control.

Negotiations that lie ahead won't be easy, ... But we are all in the same boat, headed for the same harbor. We will charter the voyage, but there is a consensus among the six nations that it's much better to sail together than jumping off the boat.

Peoria, Connecticut, Atlanta, ... I've got the Big East tournament on Thursday, the ACC on Friday, the SEC on Saturday. Then we've got the NCAA tournament. We've had guys out for the past six months. We've seen all the consensus top high school guys. We've been to Europe. We've ranked all the NBA players from all 29 teams. We've got guys everywhere.

Poland needs to reconsider its mistakes. But more than that, it needs a consensus based on truth.

Nobody is going to be 100 percent satisfied with this text, but I think it is a basis for all of us to say our main interest is covered by it and that we recognize it reflects the best consensus we can come to now.

One of the key reasons payrolls exceeded the consensus was due to a 31K gain in manufacturing jobs, the first gain in 11 months. With more of these high-paying jobs in the mix, average wages were pulled higher.

If we get a GDP or deflator number that's much stronger than the consensus estimate, then it could hurt the market because people will be talking about a tougher Fed.

IBM continues to believe that it can hit consensus EPS targets. In a deteriorating environment, this undeniably represents a solid showing.

I am sure the full range of issues involving Kosovo will be discussed, but I believe that the consensus in NATO very clearly is to stay the course,

But we don't think this language quarrels with the consensus view of financial markets - and our view - that an easing cycle will most likely begin in September.

But some people will be keying on his comments to see whether he tries to build more of a consensus on inflation targeting.

Business conditions continue to be robust. The company expressed high confidence in its third-quarter guidance of greater than $3 billion in bookings, $2.6 to $2.7 million in revenue and EPS of 64 to 68 cents. We believe guidance is conservative and estimate bookings of $3.3 billion with EPS of 70 cents, versus the Street consensus of 68 cents a share.

Basically, the consensus is Stayton and Cascade will be at the top. ... But I think we've improved enough to be in the playoffs. It's just how focused we can be in the next (eight) games.

China's territory and sovereignty are indivisible and brook no violation, ... Taiwan is an inalienable part of Chinese territory, which is a historical fact and also the consensus of the international community.

I'm a great believer in our ability to come up with the ideas necessary to solve the big questions. I have less confidence that we'll be able to find a consensus about which ones are right without experiment.

I can't say enough for what I learned at that point about the art of negotiation, about how state government really works, ... And in the end, it's not something that's all that abnormal. It's a process of compromise and consensus because for the budget to get done, you need that.

Given the current outlook, we expect to modestly exceed the first quarter consensus estimate of $0.75 per share,