William Kristol Quotations

If terror groups are to be defeated, it is national governments that will have to do so. In nations like India, governments will have to call on the patriotism of citizens to fight the terrorists. In a nation like Pakistan, the government will have to be persuaded to deal with those in their midst who are complicit.

While a defeat for Obamacare in the Court would be nice, the defeat of President Obama at the polls on November 6 is crucial. If electoral victory is achieved, Obamacare can and will be repealed - and more judges of a constitutionalist persuasion will be appointed by the next president.

Patriotism is an indispensable weapon in the defense of civilization against barbarism.

Many of Bush's defenders have praised him for keeping the country safe since Sept. 11, 2001. He deserves that praise, and I'm perfectly happy to defend most of his surveillance, interrogation and counterterrorism policies against his critics.

Conservative policies have on the whole worked - insofar as any set of policies can be said to 'work' in the real world. Conservatives of the Reagan-Bush-Gingrich-Bush years have a fair amount to be proud of.

Since Ronald Reagan's election in 1980, conservatives of various sorts, and conservatisms of various stripes, have generally been in the ascendancy. And a good thing, too! Conservatives have been right more often than not - and more often than liberals - about most of the important issues of the day.

All defense secretaries in wartime have, needless to say, made misjudgments.

In any case, decisions on troop levels in the American system of government are not made by any general or set of generals but by the civilian leadership of the war effort.

Conservatives shouldn't count on the Supreme Court to do our work for us on Obamacare. The Court may rule as it should, and strike down the mandate. But it may not. And even if it does, the future of health care in America - and for that matter, the future of limited government - depends ultimately on the verdict of the American people.

Shouldn't Democrats insist that Sen. Durbin step down as their whip, the number two man in their leadership?

Romney has to convince the American public that they need to do something they're not usually inclined to do - replace a sitting president with a challenger. And unlike in 1980 and 1992, when the public was persuaded to do just that, the incumbent president has not been weakened by a primary opponent.

Lest conservatives be too proud, it's worth recalling that conservatism's rise was decisively enabled by liberalism's weakness.

I personally - if I were designing the tax code - would have a tax code in which Mitt Romney paid more than 13 percent, given what I know about the kind of investments he made money from.

There will be trying times during Obama's presidency, and liberty will need staunch defenders. Can Obama reshape liberalism to be, as it was under F.D.R., a fighting faith, unapologetically patriotic and strong in the defense of liberty? That would be a service to our country.

If the American people really come to a settled belief that Bush lied us into war, his presidency will be over.

Would any of his aides have the nerve to tell him that as Supreme Court jurists go, Gonzales would be mediocre - and not a solid bet to move the court in a constitutionalist direction? Would any of them have the nerve to explain to the president that a Gonzales nomination would utterly demoralize many of his supporters, who are sticking with him and his party, through troubles in Iraq and screw-ups with Hurricane Katrina, precisely because they want a few important things out of a Bush presidency - and one of these is a more conservative court?

No one has anything against her. But the idea that one is supposed to sacrifice both intellectual distinction and philosophical clarity at the same time is just ridiculous.

He is a strong president ... but he has never really focused on the importance of good execution. I think that is true in many parts of his presidency,

His numbers have dropped and he is probably not the best messenger to independents and swing voters, but in terms of managing an argument, he is good at it and his style lends itself to it.

When someone wins, and someone is inaugurated, he becomes president, events happen . . . and people forget the circumstances of his becoming president.

Oh, God. . . . It's ludicrous. He should remember it's the party of Lincoln.

The more one learns about him, ... one is surprised that he's in that job in the first place.

The White House has now gotten itself in the worst of all possible worlds. She's a stealth candidate, but now she's not a stealth candidate, and she's not a distinguished candidate,

This is a moment of truth in the in the global struggle against Islamic extremism.

They really are acting out of patriotism. This is not fun for them. They're reluctant to step forward in this way and for good reason. ... They believe that Rumsfeld is endangering the course of U.S. foreign policy.

It is very hard to avoid the conclusion that President Bush flinched from a fight on constitutional philosophy, ... Her selection will unavoidably be judged as reflecting a combination of cronyism and capitulation on the part of the president.

For me, I think people should be held accountable for what they put on the air or in print.

I'll be surprised if we actually end up with hearings in two weeks. There's so little enthusiasm for this nominee anywhere, and it's hurting the president so much at this time when he's otherwise in trouble. I do think she'll withdraw.

In the first term things went pretty well, you have to say. So I don't really put the blame on Andy; he's doing what he's always done.

I hope she withdraws (her nomination), and I remain skeptical that she will be confirmed,

If it actually got to a vote, I think every Democrat would vote against her as a Bush crony who showed her cards as a strong pro-lifer.

I believe ... that both Libby and Rove will be indicted.

The liberation of Iraq was the first great battle for the future of the Middle East. But the next great battle ? not, we hope a military one ? will be for Iran.

The court is a long-term thing. It's crazy to mess up your long-term legacy to possibly help him with a short-term PR problem. I think Gonzales would be a disaster.

Among conservatives there's been too much pseudo-populism, almost too much concern and attention for, quote, 'the people'... After all, we conservatives are on the side of the lords and barons... We...are pulling up the drawbridge against the peasants.

These soldiers deserve a better defense secretary than the one we have.

The average GOP presidential vote in these last five elections was 44.5 percent. In the last three, it was 48.1 percent. Give Romney an extra point for voter disillusionment with Obama, and a half-point for being better financed than his predecessors. It still strikes me as a path to narrow defeat.

Recalling that a good chunk of the 47 percent who don't pay income taxes are Romney supporters - especially of course seniors (who might well 'believe they are entitled to heath care,' a position Romney agrees with), as well as many lower-income Americans (including men and women serving in the military) who think conservative policies are better for the country even if they're not getting a tax cut under the Romney plan. So Romney seems to have contempt not just for the Democrats who oppose him, but for tens of millions who intend to vote for him.

[I]t's up to Republicans to expose the bureaucracies and criticize the orthodoxies - to ask why visas for travel to the United States are still being issued in West Africa and why American military forces are being deployed there without a workable plan or intelligible purpose, why CDC spending priorities are so skewed and CDC management so weak, and why here at home routine police powers aren't being used and routine public health measures aren't being implemented.

[removing Saddam] "would start a chain reaction in the Arab world that would be very healthy

He should release the tax returns tomorrow. It's crazy. You've got to release six, eight, ten years back tax returns. Take the hit for a day or two. He has to give a big speech in defense of capitalism, and that will elevate, I think, this race above this tactical back and forth, which I do think he's on the margin of losing.

Leo Strauss's discoveries in the history of political philosophy had the effect of liberating his students from the yoke of contemporary thought.

The liberal media were never that powerful, and the whole thing was often used as an excuse by conservatives for conservative failures.

Iraq's always been very secular.

The trouble with politics and political coverage today is that there's too much liberal bias.... There's too much tilt toward the left-wing agenda. Too much apology for liberal policy failures. Too much pandering to liberal candidates and causes.

The most devastating indictment of the president's proposal is that it threatens to destroy virtually everything about American health care that's worth preserving. Under the plan's layers of regulation and oversight, even seeing a doctor whenever you like will be no easy matter: access to physicians will be carefully regulated by gatekeepers; referrals to specialists will be strongly discouraged; second opinions will be almost unheard of; and the availability of new drugs will be limited.

And on this issue of the Shia in Iraq, I think there's been a certain amount of, frankly, Terry, a kind of pop sociology in America that, you know, somehow the Shia can't get along with the Sunni and the Shia in Iraq just want to establish some kind of Islamic fundamentalist regime. There's almost no evidence of that at all. Iraq's always been very secular.

I'm disappointed, depressed, and demoralized. [...] It is very hard to avoid the conclusion that President Bush flinched from a fight on constitutional philosophy. Miers is undoubtedly a decent and competent person. But her selection will unavoidably be judged as reflecting a combination of cronyism and capitulation on the part of the president.

Yuppies don't have loyalty. They have useful relationships and meaningful encounters.

I mean, obviously, one of the strongest arguments against evolution and selection of the fittest and progress, which is part of evolution, is the current field of the presidential candidates. We started off with Washington and Adams and Jefferson and then we had Lincoln, and now we moved ahead and look where we are now.

Having defeated and then occupied Iraq, democratizing the country should not be too tall an order for the world's sole superpower.

Barack Obama is not going to beat Hillary Clinton in a single Democratic primary. I’ll predict that right now.

American power should be used not just in the defense of American interests but for the promotion of American principles.

Republicans can also point to an alternate path. They can draw upon genuine experts to explain what should be done.

Whenever I hear anything described as a heartless assault on our children I tend to think it's a good idea.

Bush is no conservative.

I've always rebelled a little when people say, 'My Jewish values lead me to really care about the poor.' I know some Christians who care about the poor, too.

White women are a problem, that's, you know - we all live with that.

[Among conservatives] there's been too much pseudo-populism, almost too much concern and attention for, quote, 'the people'.... After all, we conservatives are on the side of the lords and barons.... We...are pulling up the drawbridge against the peasants.

[the war in Iraq] "could have terrifically good effects troughout the Middle East

If we free the people of Iraq, we will be respected in the Arab world... and I think we will be respected around the world.

Have you ever met a war you didn't love?