Larry Sabato Quotes (139 Quotes)

The loser will have millions of people nursing that grievance for four years, and that will prove invaluable.

What has this session of Congress accomplished I'm sure they can give me a list of minor technical bills but on the big things they have failed.

The Congress reads the polls they know that the president is not where he was once and they're on the ballot next November.

Absolutely, ... The Republican campaign in Virginia will tell you that, at least privately. The president chose to nationalize that election by showing up on election eve. You don't want to do that unless you want to be associated with the results. I think they thought genuinely Bush could pull him across the race. It wasn't close. The result Bush has to take the spanking.

If you look at the polls carefully, they show that Americans are disaffected with the Bush administration policy in Iraq, but have very little confidence in the Democrats on that score either.

Say anything. Even something mildly critical would have no doubt helped in his primary.

She has been in six months, and she has already had more controversies than the average congressperson does in a career. You never bet against an incumbent. But I tell you, in her case I wouldn't bet more than a nickel on her.

Clearly, Americans love golden oldies, but this golden oldie will have much more difficulty hitting the charts this time around.

That's the great danger of the Republican candidates. If the president's popularity is low come November, there will be a substantial turnover and the Republicans will lose seats.

This is a red state, he came in on Election Eve and he had no discernible effect. If anything, he may have cost Kilgore some votes.

Is he running purely because of personal ambition, or is he the head of a movement ... We remember the heads of movements.

Every American is going to be reminded in these hearings that every vote on the Supreme Court matters enormously. They tend to disagree with one another, they tend to factionalize, so each new justice has a major, really a tremendous impact on individual lives, on the exercise of our rights and our responsibilities.

Most seats in Congress are relatively safe this year. But they are not safe from a tsunami. Iraq, plus economic problems, plus these scandals, could produce a tsunami. That's what every incumbent on Capitol Hill has to fear.

It could have an effect, ... It will certainly make it more difficult to reach a consensus on immigration.

Lots of things that smell are legal. But if a candidate is putting an emphasis on ethics, then he has an obligation that the spirit of the law be adhered to, not just the letter.

The national media will talk about (national problems) because it's something that everyone in all 50 states can understand, but the reality is these are minor factors. These are local races. ... The issues tend to be less ideological than for Senate races or races for president. ... It's about potholes and streetlights.

Democrats understand that if they are going to win in 2008, they have got to select reasonable candidates who can match the Republicans in experience on foreign policy and the war on terror. They have no choice. And that's Richardson's big ace not possessed by most of the other candidates.

She is bound to cost Republicans some votes in some places.

Other states have an advantage in recruiting businesses, they say, since they can give hope of stability to the business executives compared to Virginia, whose system guarantees unknown change every four years.

Kerry's great advantage, despite what some people say, is that the threshold is low, ... People who have decided to vote against Bush are looking for an acceptable candidate, not another Abraham Lincoln or Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

We can always go too far, and frequently do. Is it a harbinger Who knows. But it's unadulterated bad news for Bush and the Republican Party and great news for Democrats as they attempt to make a comeback in 2006.

This is Kaine's debate. It's Kaine's audience. It's probably Kaine's region, ... one of the most one-sided debates I've ever seen.

He is trying to have a very significant presidency at virtually any cost. The cost includes the Republicans' reputation for fiscal conservatism. That's dead and it may be dead for a generation.

This is a classic one.

He will nominate a solid conservative, ... If he doesn't, he will pay an enormous price. Without the support of his conservative base, his approval rating falls into the 20s and 30s.

I don't think they have the ability to work it all out together, because there are too many other key players in the legislature, much less the executive branch.

It's an unadulterated plus for his career. It's attention to an obscure senator who otherwise never would have stood out.

It is a constant struggle for most public officials between representing average constituents and taking care of the interest groups and wealthy individuals who fund the campaigns.

It is really freezing a governor's administration. It's very damaging. These scandals always are.

That would make sense. Norman is obviously the national party's choice.

When people hear the word 'pardon,' they think back to Gerald Ford pardoning Nixon in September 1974. That decision alone cost Ford a four-year term as president. This is as big as it gets.

I sincerely believe he did try to talk Card out of it, he didn't want to accept this ... and I was told that by somebody who has some knowledge of it.

This is going to be a very difficult race just to get the nomination, not to mention winning the general election. The alternative is that he could practically ask for the Virginia governorship in 2009 and have it his for the asking if he doesn't have a loss on his record in 2008.

He's radiating confidence it may even be bravado, ... He was thinking ahead. This could have been a very damaging photo. Instead I think most people will look at this and chuckle.

It's very likely that Virginia will eventually adopt the two-term governorship. But it won't be in the next few years, as far as I can tell.

Why risk his excellent relationship with the current and future junior senator of Nevada to score some points with a few party activists He's being practical. Successful public people are always practical.

Miracles happen, but it really would be a miracle if the upcoming session were one of Kentucky's most productive.

It's awful. These two races are the worst possible combination nasty and dull. It doesn't get any worse.

Will this work Sure, but when he temporarily has to address other issues, his numbers go back down. That's why he's going to have to do it a third time and a fourth time because fundamentally people are not happy with what's happening in Iraq.

They violated every rule in the book. I've studied feeding frenzies. This is a classic feeding frenzy, and it was created in part by their inability to get the news out. You have to tell the truth, and you need to get the facts out completely as soon as possible. This was a public-relations disaster because they didn't do that.

The use of the word 'plantation' is terribly unwise. It will just reinforce the view most Americans have of Hillary Clinton as being very liberal.

Conway challenging her could make things interesting, ... likely R.

There's no way to spin this than anything other than a major defeat for Republicans and for President Bush.

That is a major problem for President Bush and the Republicans. The Democrats are bound to benefit from it in the mid-term elections of 2006. The question is, to what degree

There were a lot of ships passing in the night four years ago, and some of them floated into different ponds then. But Republicans are still divided but not as divided as they were in 2001, and Kilgore's made a few inroads.

It's a conservative district, but not hard right. I happen to think a Republican will win eventually, but this could be interesting. Francine Busby could end up doing better than anybody expected.

Is it possible that he can come back Sure. There have been some tremendous and significant rebounds in American history and this would be one of them.

Rarely do you have a governor who's already been U. N. ambassador and energy secretary as well as congressman. I mean he really does have a very rich resume. This just underlines it for Democratic primary and caucus voters,

I think they have to do something prior to November 2006, to show they understand they have overspent and are determined to do something about it,

This thing is beginning to look more and more like a publicity stunt. It just adds to the appearance of chaos and uncertainty.