Stuart Rothenberg Quotes on Government (7 Quotes)

He does not have a reservoir of good will, either in Congress or in the country. People in Congress are looking for ways to disagree with him. Democrats don't seem intimidated by him. And the public doesn't see him as honest, forthright or as much as a leader as they did a year ago. He's considerably weaker.

If the country is dissatisfied with the direction of the leadership, the direction of the country, dissatisfied with the president's performance, frustrated with the inaction or action coming out of Congress, voters tend to respond to a time for change' message,

Friends in high places, as you might say, are important to voters as well as the politicians, and Akaka can claim having friends in high places most Democrats in the U.S. Senate, for example.

The president is not on the ballot so the only way to send a message to the government, to the White House, to Congress about the president's performance is via these congressional elections.

Thune lost to Tim Johnson, but that doesn't mean the former Republican congressman can't beat Daschle, ... With the Democrats in the minority in the Senate, and the state poised to vote solidly for President Bush in November, a Daschle-Thune race is a toss-up.

I think we are going to hear an awful lot about reform, open government, transparent government. And most presidential elections, frankly, turn out to be about change or the status quo. Do you like the direction of the country or do you want to change it And if you want to change it, how do you want to change it

Maybe he can put this back on the radar screen as a focus of attention for conservative Republicans. But it's a lot harder when your own party controls Congress, and now you're talking about the line-item veto because they can't control themselves or the president can't control them.