1.
At the start of his second term, one wonders less about Obama's fitness than his willingness: Why doesn't he do more to build and maintain the relationships required to govern in era of polarization?
Ron Fournier
2.
Say what you want to say about the rest of his presidency, including his tone-deaf response to Katrina and a war waged in Iraq on false pretenses, Bush connected with Americans in the aftermath of 9/11 because he looked as frail and unforgiving as we felt.
Ron Fournier
3.
It's a deft trick to turn American exceptionalism into an exceptional political tactic.
Ron Fournier
4.
According to a Public Policy Polling survey, most Americans find lice and colonoscopies more appealing than Capitol Hill.
Ron Fournier
5.
With gridlock the norm, Congress's approval rating is below 10 percent and the public has lost faith in its national leadership.
Ron Fournier
6.
Blending hard-bitten realism with long-view optimism, Obama said that every 20 or 30 years brings a new cycle of pessimism in America.
Ron Fournier
7.
Although we were never pals and occasionally butted heads, my relationship with Clinton and his wife, Hillary, made me a better journalist.
Ron Fournier
8.
President George W. Bush won reelection in 2004 largely because he was seen as comfortable in his own skin, while rival John Kerry was viewed as a flip-flopping opportunist.
Ron Fournier
9.
President Obama is casting his lot in the middle of a debate as old as America itself: Are we rugged individualists pulling ourselves up by the bootstraps? Or are we a nation of community, all connected and counting on one another?
Ron Fournier
10.
Obama might do well to remember that his fast rise from the Illinois state Senate was due in large part to an uncanny ability to make friends and find mentors.
Ron Fournier
11.
It's an appeal as old as America and its presidency: This is an extraordinary country populated by hard-working, big-dreaming, freedom-loving people graced by God when they're not pulling themselves up by the bootstraps.
Ron Fournier
12.
If acknowledging that racial misgivings and misunderstandings are still a part of politics and life in America, I plead guilty.
Ron Fournier
13.
I'm hearing echoes of Bill Clinton, circa 1996, in President Obama's reelection rhetoric.
Ron Fournier
14.
For a man who has compared himself to Theodore Roosevelt and the nation's challenges to those of the Gilded Age, Obama put forward a tepid agenda.
Ron Fournier
15.
Barack Obama won a second term but no mandate. Thanks in part to his own small-bore and brutish campaign, victory guarantees the president nothing more than the headache of building consensus in a gridlocked capital on behalf of a polarized public.
Ron Fournier
16.
Obama won the presidency on the strength of his message and the skills of the messenger. Now the talk of hope and change feels out of tune when so many Americans are out of work, over-mortgaged, and worried that life will be even tougher for their children.
Ron Fournier
17.
Shock, confusion, fear, anger, grief, and defiance. On Sept. 11, 2001, and for the three days following the worst terrorist attack on U.S. soil, President George W. Bush led with raw emotion that reflected the public's whipsawing stages of acceptance.
Ron Fournier
18.
Every now and then, a presidential candidate surprises us with a truly human and honest moment.
Ron Fournier
19.
The failure of the White House and Congress to seriously address the nation's fiscal situation is certain to broaden the belief among many voters that the U.S. political system is broken.
Ron Fournier
20.
A concrete agenda and landslide victory might not even guarantee a president his mandate in a capital as polarized as Washington.
Ron Fournier
21.
Perhaps we should wait until his second term begins before carving Barack Obama's face in Mount Rushmore. Is that asking too much?
Ron Fournier
22.
Historians will likely give Obama credit for steering the country away from the brink of economic collapse in 2009.
Ron Fournier
23.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is the most influential woman in Washington - for what she has accomplished and for what she may yet do: win the presidency.
Ron Fournier
24.
At his best, Obama promised to work with Republicans to reduce the deficit in a way that honors both individualism and community.
Ron Fournier
25.
Anything may be possible in America, but a Palin presidency is virtually implausible.
Ron Fournier
26.
American exceptionalism is the recurring character in the nation's narrative.
Ron Fournier
27.
Mandates are rarely won on election night. They are earned after Inauguration Day by leaders who spend their political capital wisely, taking advantage of events without overreaching.
Ron Fournier
28.
Got good news and bad news for you, Mr. President. The good news is that Chief Justice John Roberts just saved your legacy and, perhaps, your presidency by writing for the Supreme Court majority to rule health care reform constitutional.
Ron Fournier
29.
A presidential debate is a job interview. And voters look for certain traits in people applying to be president.
Ron Fournier
30.
Clearly, the Obama presidency hasn't wiped out racial prejudices.
Ron Fournier
31.
Obama considers himself above deal-making and back-slapping, political necessities he often delegates to Vice President Joe Biden and other lesser sorts.
Ron Fournier
32.
One of Obama's most impressive attributes is his quiet confidence: Voters sense that he is comfortable in his own skin, a dedicated father and friend who won't waste time with the phony rituals of Washington.
Ron Fournier
33.
Political consultants are pugilists, masters in the dark art of negativity. Which is why it's surprising to hear Democrats such as Steve McMahon and Republicans like Rich Galen urging their presidential candidates to be more, well, positive.
Ron Fournier
34.
I've been leading newsrooms for a while now and it's been an honor serving as Editor in Chief of N.J., but I really think that my best shot at moving the needle in politics is by getting close to it - by reading, reporting, tweeting and writing.
Ron Fournier
35.
Romney and Democratic rival President Obama have led their partisan backers down a trail of lies, negativity and vacuous policies that seem certain to guarantee an angry electorate four more years of gridlock.
Ron Fournier
36.
Once a popular Alaska governor with a modest record of accomplishment, Palin could conceivably revive her reputation in this era of short memories. But it's hard to imagine her name atop the GOP ballot in 2016, when a cast of heavyweights who sat out 2012 will be vying for the nomination.
Ron Fournier
37.
Obama still has work to do with the vision thing. Convincing voters that he has a credible, practical plan to turn the nation around is a process, not a speech.
Ron Fournier
38.
Obama is capable - as evidenced by his first-term success with health care reform. But mandate-building requires humility, a trait not easily associated with him.
Ron Fournier
39.
Most political journalists come to Washington because they're snappy writers, big thinkers, or news breakers. Me? My ticket to the big leagues had little to do with talent. It was mostly about the governor I was covering, Bill Clinton.
Ron Fournier
40.
Palin seems to have forgotten that her poll ratings have plummeted since the summer of 2011.
Ron Fournier
41.
Don't underestimate questions from the crowd; technology has made voters more informed than ever.
Ron Fournier
42.
A dose of humility goes a long way in life and in politics.
Ron Fournier
43.
Somebody must be up and somebody must be down. Trouble is, campaigns are messy, subtle creatures that don't follow convenient narratives.
Ron Fournier
44.
Like a cowboy saddling a bucking stallion, Republican leaders tried to tame the Tea Party while riding it to victories.
Ron Fournier
45.
Election night is the easiest time to act like a grownup.
Ron Fournier
46.
The 2016 presidential election is ripe for the emergence of a game-changing political leader who either dramatically reforms one of the existing parties or mounts an independent bid.
Ron Fournier
47.
Most Tea Party activists consider Obama a big-spending liberal. Some even question his eligibility to be president.
Ron Fournier
48.
Obama ran a hard-edged and negative campaign against Romney, hoping to convince recession-weary voters that his rival was unworthy of the job.
Ron Fournier
49.
By nominating Chuck Hagel to be his Defense secretary, President Obama is putting forward an aloof contrarian who doesn't suffer fools - a striving politician who considers himself above politics.
Ron Fournier
50.
'Argo,' 'Lincoln,' and 'Zero Dark Thirty,' three films honored with Best Picture Oscar nominations, lionize their Washington-anchored protagonists as crafty, competent, and virtually incorruptible.
Ron Fournier
