Paul Begala's Quotes

My view was that the campaign had been a sacred thing, that it had been a real compact, because I was there and I saw the connection that Clinton made with people, and the connection that they made with him.

One of the problems we saw in the last presidential election in our party is that our nominee, while winning the election, which we ought never to forget, often lost sight of the difference between strategy and tactics.

So one important lesson of Vietnam is, the first casualty of an unwise and unjust war are the American troops called on to fight it. Their service should be honored.

There's the great line: the definition of a liberal is someone who's afraid to take their own side in a fight. And that's my problem with my fellow liberals.

This gets back to the fundamental lesson of political survival that Bill Clinton taught me, which is if you make it about the American people's lives instead of your life, you're going to be okay.

Politics is show business for ugly people.

Defining the terms of the debate generally dictates who's gonna' win it.

Never interrupt your opponent when he's destroying himself.

If George W. Bush is given a second term, and retains a Republican Congress and a compliant federal judiciary, he and his allies are likely to embark on a campaign of political retribution the likes of which we haven't seen since Richard Nixon.

See, I think if it just became who's sleeping with whom, then there's no reason to prefer one party over the other, 'cause the truth is we're all sinners.

Bill and Hillary Clinton are the most investigated couple in American history - now the most thoroughly exonerated couple in American history.

Bush began helping Enron in the eighties.

I didn't spend a lot of time on national security the American people will be glad to know.

I don't like being a voyeur, looking into other people's marriages.

I grew up in Tom DeLay's district.

I think too many Democrats are too wimpy. But I think they're beginning to toughen up.

I try hard to be a good Catholic.

I used to go in at 5:30 or 6:00 so I could run.

I'm a Catholic, but I used to love going to Vacation Bible School with my fundamentalist friends.

I'm very sunny. You know, I'm always optimistic.

It must kill George Bush that John McCain is the most popular and Beloved Republican in America.

It seems to me the American people never really forgave the Democrats for being right about Vietnam.

Most politicians, when they meet with a guy like me, or a guy like Carville, tell you about how they can win.

Again and again, I've seen Bush turn a blind eye as his henchmen have leveled zealous attacks against his political enemies - assaults which the president himself has sometimes directly encouraged.

Again, President Reagan was sort of an amiable presence out at the ranch by the last 6 months of his presidency. He had no effect on national policy at all.

But I think what happened was that Clinton knew how to fight back. And the way he fought back was on the issues - being tough in staying on the things that mattered to people in their lives.