Stuart Rothenberg Quotes (55 Quotes)

This year still looks very much like a Democratic year, and the only question is how big a year it will be for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and the Democratic Congressional Committee.

Politicians see this as a potentially defining event and they are worried how they are going to be seen. Politicians realize that public opinion could turn on this, just the way it turned on 911.

I think Bush's whole strategy is going to be to neutralize everything except character, ... They'll say, 'We're as capable on the economy, education and preserving health care. There's not a difference except you can't trust him, but you can trust us.'

The fact that he's a lame duck in Massachusetts now and his term will end two years before the presidential election is not at all a problem. I'd regard it as an asset. He's free to travel.

While they have received plenty of ink, it is far from clear that any of them will win... A military record is a credential that voters may consider, but they often prefer to use other vote cues to pick the candidate for whom they will vote.

The environment is better and better for Democrats.

Like Rasputin, who refused to die even after he was poisoned, shot three times and beaten with a 2-pound dumbbell, Alabama Gov. Bob Riley (R) is proving to be more resilient than many political observers once assumed.

The Republicans cannot hemorrhage among Republican, suburban women they need those votes in '98 and 2000. And I think Democrats may come to need white men whether it's in '98 or 2000 or beyond.

So while there has been some criticism that the Democrats do not have a detailed plan, they do not really need one and they are not rushing to one. They do not have one. Basically, the Democratic argument is that things are not going well, give us a chance.

The Democrats are giving the president a dose of his own medicine. It taps the same kinds of biases and concerns that Americans have that the Republicans have been tapping.

We will be drawing down some troops. If the president wants to try to turn that into the beginning of a success, he actually, I think, has some opportunity.

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.

In the context of American politics, this is a pretty big deal. It symbolizes the influence and growth of a key voting group -- Hispanic voters -- in Democratic politics, but also in American politics.

The problem with the big issues, Social Security reform, campaign finance reform, fundamental tax reform, is that they are so politically dangerous that I think both sides want to avoid them.

I think it will go a long way to bringing this chapter to a close. I think there will be a few more days of some questions, but this story is mostly inside the beltway of concern only to Washington political insiders.

By saying that he's going to engage Bradley, by calling for debates, by talking about a campaign shakeup, I think Al Gore is saying 'no, the nomination is no longer inevitable, I have to earn it.

Overall we have not seen that many seats that changed hands one way or the other, and Republicans did surprisingly well in the East, enough to offset any late Democratic advantage in the West.

He has found his voice on Iraq and terrorism. The president has been more aggressive in defending American policy in Iraq and trying to remind Americans there is still a threat out there. In a strange way this domestic surveillance controversy also allows him to return to the terrorism-national security message.

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,

For some conservatives, it was like a cold dish towel across their face, reminding them that, 'wait a second, we thought we were totally supportive of this president, now we know, maybe we have to keep an eye on him.' And, conservative groups have become much more animated and activist and second guessing of the president.

President Bush's poll numbers are already pretty bad, and there has been some concern among people about the long vacation while there is a perception that things aren't going so well. I hate to say it, but some of the role a leader plays after a disaster is public relations.

These numbers suggest an electorate ripe for an 'it's-time-for-change' argument. They don't like the way things are going, and they are blaming the people in charge.

This is a homeland security, national security issue and I think Republicans think they own this issue and they don't want to give Democrats an opening.

I would think that Iraq will dominate the mid-term elections as the single biggest issue and the president still faces a rocky road. Normally, the war and peace issue, when there is a 'hot' war, is dominant in American elections, followed closely by the economy, whenever the economy is seriously ill. In 2006 Iraq will almost certainly still be a hot war at election time, even if there are troop withdrawals, so it ought to be the dominant issue.

There will be some true believers who will rally around him and portray him as a victim. But politicians tend to be a wary bunch.

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.

What we're seeing early on is Democrats rallying around Al Gore, Republicans rallying around George Bush and the difficulty of anybody else to get any room in the race.

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.

The race is over unless Bush not only stumbles but collapses, ... He has such a huge bankroll, he starts out with such terrific poll numbers, he has demonstrated such significant campaign appeal that it's hard to imagine this is a race.

He can mobilize the base, but I'm not sure the base is the problem now, ... Weak Democrats are the problem. Weak partisans, swing voters and ticket-splitters are the problem. These are the voters that are important.

Even though I'm skeptical that this kind of issue is going to pull the rug out from Al Gore, I think it's a plus for the Republicans to be able to talk about foreign policy, to talk about national security and to talk about the failure of the administration of Bill Clinton and Al Gore in this one area.

Democrats still have the potential for major gains (even taking the House), but their current prospects are somewhat lower.

California is going to be quite good for the Democrats. But the rest of the country is a draw.

There is no doubt the voters of Delaware really love Bill Roth. It's not that they don't know him. It's a question of whether they think it's time to give him a gold watch and have someone else for the future.

Republicans have to be relieved. Given all the bad news this White House has faced, at least the president's hemorrhaging has stopped.

If Gore were up 10 points, this wouldn't happen. There would be a lot of golf to be played otherwise.

Democrats are going to try to turn this into a partisan issue. The Republicans say no, that there are some Republicans involved but there are Democrats involved, and so this is really going to boil down to a nuts and bolts political argument.

You have the bizarre situation now of the Republican race looking like it could end before the Democratic contest, and the Democratic contest includes the sitting vice president of the United States. I don't think anyone would have imagined that a year ago.

The Republicans and the president seem to have come together on a number of issues to arrive at a consensus. The deepening division is now between the Democratic President Bill Clinton and the Democratic leader in the House, Dick Gephardt, and a lot of this is positioning for the year 2000.

There's a decent chance the Democrats could take the House. The combination of the national mood and the difficulty the president and Republicans are having getting things done makes it no longer a long shot.

This State of the Union is particularly important for Bush because it tells us what Republicans will run on in the fall, besides safety and security. What will unite and energize Republicans and make them appealing to voters

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.

The Kerry people have to keep their focus on George W. Bush and attacking the president's policies, particularly on Iraq. To the extent that Bill Clinton suddenly becomes a campaign issue, I don't think that's an asset for the challenger.

Whether or not they're in agreement with the NRA's views, they see the NRA as having ... financial resources ... (and) supporters who are very involved in politics,

Many Democratic elected officials are critical of the president's handling of the war and overall performance, and, at the same time, do not want to be seen as just anti-war liberal Democrats. So, they are trying to have it both ways, of being critical of the president, but, at the same time, supporting our men and women who are fighting.

I think it's less risky for the Kerry campaign to embrace former President Clinton than it is to reject him.

Everybody seems to admit he is conservative. He is also bright. He has no obvious ethical problems. That probably means the Democrats are going to have to dig up a good deal of controversy if they are going to challenge this nomination seriously.

This turns the flame up under the kettle and keeps the water boiling. It means he's going to continue to be peppered with questions about this stock sale, and no politician wants to be questioned about things like that.

I thought it was a strong night for the Republicans, John McCain talking about national security defense and foreign terrorism. I think Rudy Giuliani did a pretty good job of mixing criticism of John Kerry -- and talking about the president and his efforts on the war on terror. It was a good start. The only question is How does it build And will Vice President Cheney and President Bush close the deal

Republicans are defending 22 governorships, compared to 16 for Democrats, so the GOP will be hard-pressed to keep its overall majority.