Top quotes by David Brooks

The daily activity that contributes most to happiness is having dinner with friends. The daily activity that detracts most from happiness is commuting. Eat more. Commute less. Votes: 19

Highly educated young people are tutored, taught and monitored in all aspects of their lives, except the most important, which is character building. When it comes to this, most universities leave them alone. Votes: 16

People used to complain that selling a president was like selling a bar of soap. But when you buy soap, at least you get the soap. In this campaign you just get two guys telling you they really value cleanliness. Votes: 14

... trash talk ... Washington floats on a river of aspersion. Votes: 13

Some children lack tools to see their course in the world in far-sighted ways. Just introducing school vouchers won't change that. You have to have nurse-home partnerships, early childhood education, mentoring programs and so on. People learn from people they love. Votes: 12

I am not a Jew for Jesus but I am definitely a Jew for Christmas. Christmas is one of the best things you Christians have given us, along with mac and cheese, Bono, croquet and politeness. Votes: 8

My SUV, assuming Hummer comes out with a model for those who find the current ones too cramped, will look something like the Louisiana Superdome on wheels. It'll guzzle so much gas as I walk out to my driveway there will be squads of Saudi princes gaping and applauding. It'll come, when I buy it, with little Hondas and Mazdas already embedded in the front grillwork. Votes: 8

We pretend to be a middle class, democratic nation, but in reality we love our blue bloods. ... We love the prep school manners, the aristocratic calm, the Skull and Bones mystery, the dappled lawns stretching before New England summer homes. How else can you explain the Bush vs. Kerry match-up that confronts us this year Votes: 7

This death cult has no reason and is beyond negotiation. This is what makes it so frightening. This is what causes so many to engage in a sort of mental diversion. They don't want to confront this horror. So they rush off in search of more comprehensible things to hate. Votes: 7

I think there are two basic approaches you can use for campaign finance. One is complete openness, everybody knows absolutely everything, but no limits. But you let people decide.The other is just have a national public system. Votes: 6

The school asks a person who has achieved a certain level of career success to give you a speech telling you that career success is not important. Votes: 6

When you cover politics, you realize that knowing how to talk about character matters more and more. The way we hold ideas is more important than the ideas. Votes: 5

Dan P. McAdams argues that children develop a narrative tone which influences their stories for the rest of their lives. Children gradually adopt an enduring assumption that everything will turn out well, or badly, depending on their childhood. Votes: 5

If I had to fault President [Barack] Obama, I would say that sometimes governs like a visitor from a morally superior civilization. Votes: 5

Most poor people in America are white. The family breakdown issue is an issue that crosses all sorts of racial lines. High school dropout issues. But because of the flow of events which involve the racial component, we've sometimes confused racial issues with other issues which are trans-racial. Votes: 5

America is not just a democracy, it represents a certain culture of competitive mobility and personality aspirations, politics is not merely a clash of interests, but a clash of dreams. Votes: 4

There are no free and democratic and wealthy countries in the world that have US rate of gun violence. We have to worry about loners and alienated people. We have to do better on mental health. Votes: 4

The roots of great innovation are never just in the technology itself. They are always in the wider historical context. They require new ways of seeing. As Einstein put it, 'The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.' Votes: 4

The point of being a teacher is to do more than impart facts, it's to shape the way students perceive the world, to help a student absorb the rules of a discipline. The teachers who do that get remembered. Votes: 3

I'm a pundit. I'm, like, paid to be a narcissistic blowhard and be in front of the camera. Votes: 3

It's just a lot safer to be an incumbent. So I think they have used the campaign finance reforms. They have passed laws that will help themselves stay in office. And I think that's one of the flaws that we do have in the system. Votes: 3

People used to complain that selling a president was like selling a bar of soap. But when you buy soap, at least you get the soap. In this campaign, you just get two guys telling you they really value cleanliness. Votes: 3

What family you were born into matters so much more than it did before in a perverse way. Votes: 2

Most poverty and suffering - whether in a country, a family or a person - flows from disorganization. A stable social order is an artificial accomplishment, the result of an accumulation of habits, hectoring, moral stricture and physical coercion. Once order is dissolved, it takes hard measures to restore it Votes: 2

I've observed a few things about the few really great people I've had a chance to meet and cover...They need to be around people. You and I require sleep. They require people. Votes: 2

This is how life works. Deciding whom to love is not an alien form of decision-making , a romantic interlude in the midst of normal life. Instead, decisions about whom to love are more intense versions of the sorts of decisions we make throughout the course of our existence, from what kind of gelato to order to what career to pursue. Living is an inherently emotional business. Votes: 2

Our emotions tell us what to value. They're like a little GPS system: Go that way. Don't go that way. Votes: 2

In the evenings she got on her knees and inflicted her piety on her sister: Votes: 1

Bobos are uncomfortable with universal moral laws that purport to regulate pleasure. Bobos prefer more prosaic self-controlled regimes. The things that are forbidden are unhealthy or unsafe. The things that are encouraged are enriching or calorie burning. In other words, we regulate our carnal desires with health codes instead of moral codes. Votes: 1

To explain the unknown by the known is a logical procedure; to explain the known by the unknown is a form of theological lunacy." Votes: 1

If you do have to look at polls, you should do it no more than once every few days, to get a general sense of the state of the race. I've seen the work on information overload, which makes people depressed, stressed and freezes their brains. I know that checking the polls constantly is a recipe for self-deception and anxiety. Votes: 0

I think Americans expect optimism in their leadership. The most popular and effective leaders, whether it was Bill Clinton or Ronald Reagan or Jack Kennedy, brought to it a sense of optimism and possibility. Votes: 0

I'm thankful that we live in a crassly commercial, polarized culture, so media jackals like me have a lot of work to do. Votes: 0

Sometimes, you go - you achieve a few things in life. I have achieved more career success than I ever experienced or that I ever thought. And I just realized, it doesn't make you happy. It's an elemental truth. It's so true. Votes: 0

I'm not a kicker and a screamer. Votes: 0

If done correctly, these techniques can allow the Bobo pilgrim to have 6 unforgettable moments a morning, 2 rapturous experiences over lunch, 1,5 profound insights in the afternoon (on average), and .667 life-altering epiphanies after each sunset. Votes: 0

One of the things capitalism does is, it does enhance and exacerbate the sin of pride, making yourself, the material world the center of your universe, instead of God's will. Votes: 0

It is especially painful when narcissists suffer memory loss because they are losing parts of the person they love most. Votes: 0

Memo to young journalists: Democratic victories are always ascribed to hope; Republican ones to rage. Votes: 0

To explain the unknown by the known is a logical procedure; to explain the known by the unknown is a form of theological lunacy. Votes: 0

People generally don't suffer high rates of PTSD after natural disasters. Instead, people suffer from PTSD after moral atrocities. Soldiers who've endured the depraved world of combat experience their own symptoms. Trauma is an expulsive cataclysm of the soul. Votes: 0

The imagination simplifies our endless desires and causes us to fantasize that they can be fulfilled. Votes: 0

Self-actualization is what educated existence is all about. For members of the educated class, life is one long graduate school. When they die, God meets them at the gates of heaven, totes up how many fields of self-expression they have mastered, and then hands them a divine diploma and lets them in. Votes: 0

Almost every successful person begins with two beliefs: the future can be better than the present, and I have the power to make it so. Votes: 0

To nurture your career, it makes sense to cultivate your strengths. To nurture your moral core, it is necessary to confront your weaknesses. Votes: 0

I make honorable things pleasant to children." A teacher from Sparta Votes: 0

Angela Duckworth has shown how important grit and perseverance are to lifetime outcomes. College students who report that they finish whatever they begin have higher grades than their peers, even ones with higher SATs. Votes: 0

College is about exposing students to many things and creating an aphrodisiac atmosphere so that they might fall in lifelong love with a few. Votes: 0

He read vividly. Votes: 0

Humanities are the instructors of enchantment. Votes: 0

Online life is so delicious because it is socializing with almost no friction. Votes: 0

Those born in the poorest quarter of American society have an 8% chance of earning a college degree. Those born in the wealthiest quarter of American society have a 75% chance of earning a college degree. Votes: 0

Students are taught how to do things, but many are not forced to reflect on why they should do them or what we are here for. Votes: 0

Women, in general, are less visually aroused than men, a trait that has nearly cut the market for pornography in half. Votes: 0

A person who is interrupted while performing a task takes 50% more time to complete it and make 50% more errors. Votes: 0

If you're a soldier or marine in an Arab country, Islam is the solution. And you need to show respect. Votes: 0

Research by Donald A. Redelmeier and Sheldon M. Singh has found that, on average, Oscar winners live nearly four years longer than nominees that don't win. Votes: 0

It's almost inherent, but I'm a massive [Stanley] Kubrick fan. I'm a big admirer of what guys like Christopher Nolan have been able to do. For me, to be able to try to make big films that reach a lot of people, and that hopefully have something to say, is a lofty goal, but that's my goal. Votes: 0

How can we expect young people to be rooted in things such as character, morality and honesty? How is one supposed to be at once an arrow soaring skyward and an oak planted firmly in the ground? The meritocratic culture hones strivers on every aspect of their lives save one - how to cultivate character. Votes: 0

There are plenty of team players in government who do whatever the leader says. There are too few difficult members, who have complicated minds, unusual perspectives, the toughness to withstand the party-line barrages and a practical interest in producing results. Votes: 0

The key factor separating geniuses from the merely accomplished is not a divine spark. It's not I.Q., a generally bad predictor of success, even in realms like chess. Instead, it's deliberate practice. Top performers spend more hours (many more hours) rigorously practicing their craft. Votes: 0

America has an important role to play as the world leader in creating a global order, free trade, free waterways, free commerce, free movement of people. That happens because of U.S. military might. Votes: 0

The message of the summoned life is that you don't need to panic if you don't yet know what you want to do with your life. But you probably want to throw yourselves into circumstances where the summons will come. Votes: 0

Friendship allows you to see your own life but with a second sympathetic self. Votes: 0

The teachers union may not like Betsy DeVos, but she's clearly within the range of Republican policy-makers. Votes: 0

Much of life is about failure, whether we acknowledge it or not, and your destiny is profoundly shaped by how effectively you learn from and adapt to failure. Votes: 0

The brain is not the mind. It is probably impossible to look at a map of brain activity and predict or even understand the emotions, reactions, hopes and desires of the mind. Votes: 0

If there is a series of attacks like that or, God forbid, if ISIS is really sending soldiers across Europe and maybe across the world for a barrage of these things, then the political climate is revolutionized here. And maybe the [Donald] Trump speech will look like a precursor to a climate that we're all about to walk into. Votes: 0

I'm not sure [Donald] Trump has had that distinction between private and public life in his head. And so, I think there's likely to be an erosion of just that standard, that different standard, consciousness, and I think it's likely we'll see what we haven't seen in the last eight years and even the last 12 or 16 of private enrichment in office and scandals where people have to resign and things like that, because just once the standards go, behavior tends to go. Votes: 0

Your DVD collection is organized, and so is your walk-in closet. Your car is clean and vacuumed, your frequently dialed numbers are programmed into your cordless phone, your telephone plan is suited to your needs, and your various gizmos interact without conflict. Your spouse is athletic, your kids are bright, your job is rewarding, your promotions are inevitable, everywhere you need to be comes with its own accessible parking. You look great in casual slacks. Votes: 0

It’s only useful to ask, what wisdom have you learned from your misjudgments that will help you going forward? Votes: 0

I happen to think most people go into government do it for the right reasons and they really do things as they see them on the merits of the issues. Votes: 0

One of the things this world is finding is that emotion is the basis of reason. We really have to trust our emotions, which are much smarter than our reason in some ways. Votes: 0

Recovering from suffering is not like recovering from a disease. Many people don’t come out healed; they come out different. They crash through the logic of individual utility and behave paradoxically. Instead of recoiling from the sorts of loving commitments that almost always involve suffering, they throw themselves more deeply into them. Even while experiencing the worst and most lacerating consequences, some people double down on vulnerability. They hurl themselves deeper and gratefully into their art, loved ones and commitments. Votes: 0

Even in this nuclear thing, [ Donald Trump] says we should be stronger and expand. What does that mean? So, what is concrete in what he's saying? Votes: 0

Students are too busy jumping through the next hurdle in the résumé race to figure out what they really want. They are too frantic tasting everything on the smorgasbord to have life-altering encounters. They have a terror of closing off options. They have been inculcated with a lust for prestige and a fear of doing things that may put their status at risk. Votes: 0

Two terrible behaviors don't make a good behavior. Votes: 0

Palin is smart, politically skilled, courageous and likable. Her convention and debate performances were impressive. Votes: 0

Empathy makes you more aware of other people's suffering, but it's not clear it actually motivates you to take moral action or prevents you from taking immoral action. Votes: 0

In my view, success is earned externally by being better than other people. But character, that sort of unfakeable goodness, is earned by being better than you used to be. And it's about self-confrontation. Votes: 0

The prevailing view is that geniuses are largely built, not born. Votes: 0

We are primarily the products of thinking that happens below the level of awareness. Votes: 0

Betsy DeVos is not the most informed person on education policy, but I have seen her present a few times, and she presents as a pretty respectable, intelligent person who has cared passionately about education and cares about charter schools. Votes: 0

I think as we interpret him and frankly as the world learns to interpret Donald Trump, are these just words that are enigmatic things floating on air or are they actually shifts in policy and will they change moment by moment, day by day without any underlying connection to the actual stuff of governance? I don't know. Votes: 0

Learning was a by-product of her search for pleasure Votes: 0

As for multimillionaires [in Donald Trump's Administration], a lot of us hope to be a multimillionaire some day. Again, spotty records, but it seems to be not without the range. Votes: 0

I could tell you that when you have trouble making up your mind about something, tell yourself you'll settle it by flipping a coin. But don't go by how the coin flips; go by your emotional reaction to the coin flip. Are you happy or sad it came up heads or tails? Votes: 0

It’s easy to see why politicians would be drawn to the populist pose. First, it makes everything so simple. The economic crisis was caused by a complex web of factors, including global imbalances caused by the rise of China. But with the populist narrative, you can just blame Goldman Sachs. Votes: 0

I don't blame the Democrats for fighting. They have got a very energized base. And there is a lot to complain about a lot of these nominees. But I think, if you are actually going to turn someone down from a president's [Donald Trump] own Cabinet, it better be a lot more egregious than the cases we have seen. Votes: 0

Britain is blessed with a functioning political culture. It is dominated by people who live in London and who have often known each other since prep school. This makes it gossipy and often incestuous. Votes: 0

It’s not that Egypt doesn’t have a recipe for a democratic transition. It seems to lack even the basic mental ingredients. Votes: 0

On the [Andrew] Puzder point, I do agree there has been a double standard. Votes: 0

The rich don't exploit the poor. They just out-compete them. Votes: 0

People generally overestimate how distinct their lives are, so the commonalities seemed to them like a series of miracles. Votes: 0

It’s worth noting that you can devote your life to community service and be a total schmuck. You can spend your life on Wall Street and be a hero Votes: 0

Stairway to Wisdom”) David Brooks detailed the needed ingredients to gaining a deep understanding of a social problem, beginning with the data and moving on to first-hand accounts. The highest rung on his stairway, though, went beyond those: “Empathy opens you up to absorb the good and the bad. Love impels you not just to observe but to seek union—to think as another thinks and feel as another feels. Votes: 0

On the [Betsy] DeVos case, I agree that the gun - her gun position is kind of weird, kind of crazy, but I do think she does know about public schools. Votes: 0

Civility is the natural state for people who know how limited their own individual powers are and know, too, that they need the conversation. Votes: 0

The legitimacy of a war is not established by how it is organized but by what it achieves. Votes: 0

The reason the Betsy DeVos case was the centerpiece case for the Democrats wasn't about her weakness as a knowledgeable person on education policy. Votes: 0

The crossroads where government meets enterprise can be an exciting crossroads. It can also be a corrupt crossroads. It requires moral rectitude to separate public service from private gain. Votes: 0

[Betsy DeVos] does care about charter schools, which are public schools. She does care about choice, which is a perfectly legitimate thing to care about. It's because it's the one issue where the Democratic donor base was really energized, which was the teacher unions. Votes: 0

We are a democratic, egalitarian people who spend our days desperately trying to climb over each other. Votes: 0

Pain now is better than pain deferred. Votes: 0

Sometime over the past generation we became less likely to object to something because it is immoral and more likely to object to something because it is unhealthy or unsafe. So smoking is now a worse evil than six of the Ten Commandments, and the word sinful is most commonly associated with chocolate. Votes: 0

I have seen [Betsy DeVos] present a few times. I don't really know her. But I have seen her present on education policy, and she's not a stupid person. Votes: 0

People want reality that tells them how right they are all the time. Votes: 0

Freedom without structure is its own slavery. Votes: 0

Live life as a series of revelations Votes: 0

Would [Betsy DeVos] be my first pick? No. Is she someone who has dedicated her life to education policy? Yes, actually, she has. Votes: 0

The zooming wealth of the top 1 percent is a problem, but it's not nearly as big a problem as the tens of millions of Americans who have dropped out of high school or college. It's not nearly as big a problem as the 40 percent of children who are born out of wedlock. It's not nearly as big a problem as the nation's stagnant human capital, its stagnant social mobility and the disorganized social fabric for the bottom 50 percent. Votes: 0

Bragging about what a good deal you got is one of the many great art forms that my people, the Jews, have introduced to American culture. Votes: 0

Emotion is the foundation of reason. Votes: 0

Courage is the most important virtue because it is the hardest. Votes: 0

The more people doubt their own beliefs the more, paradoxically, they are inclined to proselytize in favor of them. Votes: 0

Most people don't form a self and then lead a life. They are called by a problem, and the self is constructed gradually by their calling. Votes: 0

People ask, quite legitimately, why [Betsy] DeVos and why not a lot of the others? But it's because it has to do with the special interest groups that run a lot of Washington. Votes: 0

Big Brother is not the only danger facing the country. Another is the rising tide of distrust, the corrosive spread of cynicism, the fraying of the social fabric and the rise of people who are so individualistic in their outlook that they have no real understanding of how to knit others together and look after the common good. Votes: 0

Bill Clinton pandered by telling you what you wanted to hear. John Kerry panders by never telling you what you don't want to hear. This is negative pandering; he talks a lot without really ruling anything out so you can draw your own conclusions.....Kerry has been talking for years, and yet such is the thicket of his verbiage that he has achieved almost complete strategic ambiguity. Votes: 0

With a normal president like President [Barack] Obama, he says a word, and that's because there has been some thought that he's done and there had been policy papers and there's been aides and there's been advisers and then there is a connection to an actual set of policies. And so, the words like have roots into actual stuff. Votes: 0

People want a reality that tells them they're right all of the time. Votes: 0

One of the things I think about with Donald Trump is what are his words actually attached to? With Trump, I'm not sure the words have roots. They are emanations of his psyche, but has he thought it through? Is there an argument, is there a policy implication? Votes: 0

A wise soul once declared that the ultimate power of the writer is that he has the choice of whom he wants to be co-opted by. Votes: 0

I've come to think that flourishing consists of putting yourself in situations in which you lose self-consciousness and become fused with other people, experiences, or tasks. Votes: 0

We shouldn't just allow gay marriage. We should insist on gay marriage. We should regard it as scandalous that two people could claim to love each other and not want to sanctify their love with marriage and fidelity. Votes: 0

President-elect [Donald] Trump's ambassador to Israel is further to the right than almost anyone in Israel, further to the right than Bibi Netanyahu on the settlements, and almost opposes the two-state solution, doesn't he? Votes: 0

Marital happiness is far more important than anything else in determining personal well-being. Votes: 0

If it feels all right for you, it's probably OK. Votes: 0

The core threat to democracy is not in the White House, it's the [Bush] haters themselves. Votes: 0

[Donald Trump] has shifted - President [Barack] Obama has shifted American policy in a much more critical way in Israel with the settlements than the previous presidents. Votes: 0

If you just rely on one model, you tend to amputate reality to make it fit your model. Votes: 0

The effectiveness of a group of people is not determined by their IQ but by how well they communicate. Votes: 0

Institutions do all the things that are supposed to be bad. They impede personal exploration. They enforce conformity. But they often save us from our weaknesses and give meaning to life. Votes: 0

Creativity is not a solitary process. It happens within networks... when talented people get together, when idea systems and mentalities merge. Votes: 0

The public is not only shifting from left to right. Every single idea associated with the educated class has grown more unpopular over the past year. . . . A year ago, the Obama supporters were the passionate ones. Now the tea party brigades have all the intensity. Votes: 0

Liberals lost touch with working-class Americans because they never had to have a conversation about values with those voters; they could just rely on the courts to impose their views. Votes: 0

I think we are all disgusted by the way George W. Bush's administration has allowed honesty and candor to seep into the genteel world of international affairs. Votes: 0

Certainly, the country can't have two presidents at once, so the tradition has been to hang back if you're the president-elect and wait for your time in office. [Donald] Trump is not a hang-back kind of guy. Votes: 0

We live in a culture that encourages us to be big about ourselves, and I think the starting point of trying to build inner goodness is to be a little bit smaller about yourself. Votes: 0

What Bannon and Trump have presented us with is an idea of America that's not been the traditional idea, not the Walt Whitman idea, not the George Washington, Abraham Lincoln idea, which is one of welcoming because we're the last, best hope of Earth. Votes: 0

Democrats in environmental agencies tend to be more sensitive to environmental harm. And Republicans tend to be more sensitive to business harm. Votes: 0

Trump has picked the more extreme versions of all Republicans so far, the more aggressive. And I think the thing to watch out for is, I could totally paint a scenario where Trump runs an authoritarian regime. I can totally paint a scenario where he has no control over his own government. Votes: 0

[Betsy DeVos] is quite a smart person, capable, pretty sophisticated in subtle thought. And so to me, that puts her in the realm of policy. But we're in a climate where, as today, she tries to visit a school, and she can't even do that because protesters are blocking that. Votes: 0

I think the Democrats are right to protest, but I don't think Jeff Sessions is so far out of the range of normalcy that he shouldn't be confirmed. Votes: 0

Jeff Sessions has some problematic spots on his history, but he has been a pretty normal, respectable senator, more conservative than a lot of us, but a respectable senator for a long period of time. Votes: 0

I generally think the president [Donald Trump] should get his Cabinet picks, unless they're egregiously out of the range, either ethically or intellectually out of the range of what's acceptable. Votes: 0

Every time Kellyanne Conway goes on TV, there's another fight with whoever's interviewing her that particular day. Votes: 0

It's the rising tide of enmity in the country, Donald Trump attacking judges, Donald Trump attacking John McCain, Senator [Richard] Blumenthal, the town halls, the riots in Berkeley. You have got the incivility on the floor of the United States Senate. You have got just a rising tide, every single story. Votes: 0

There has never been evidence that people from these [banned] countries are disproportionately likely to commit terrorist acts. We have sent chaos to the airports. We have offended the world. We have derailed the administration. We have done it in such an incompetent way, the administration has, that people with perfectly legal residence have been widely inconvenienced. Votes: 0

Nonetheless, so whether it's unconstitutional or not [for judges to overruling presidents], I leave to others. Votes: 0

I'm a little uncomfortable with the idea of judges overruling presidents on national security matters. Votes: 0

If Donald Trump is just tweeting about a union guy, then he's just being the bully we have seen. But if he uses the power of the presidency to back up some of those tweets and he's really, really coming down with a hammer on people he doesn't like using the power of the presidency, then we're seeing something very new and very different. Votes: 0

On the larger issue of the travel ban, our friend Charles Krauthammer of The Washington Post I think put it pretty well. I'm not sure it's illegal, but it's extremely stupid. Votes: 0

I think Trump's attention span is super low. I don't think he has the expertise to actually run a foreign policy. Votes: 0

What's interesting about the Trump administration is how bitterly divided they are in their attitudes towards Putin. Votes: 0

The thing that should most concern us is a shift in American foreign policy. We have had a bipartisan belief in American foreign policy based on the post-World War II institutions that believed in democratic global world, which Russia and the Soviet Union was often seen as hostile to. And most Republicans and Democrats have always basically believed in this world order. Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin and maybe Marine Le Pen do not agree with this basic structure of the world. Votes: 0

The idea that Russia felt emboldened and apparently fearless to go into our election and manipulate our own election process, whether successfully or not, is a sign that they are outside the norms of normal society. Votes: 0

Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin and Marine Le Pen seem to have no respect for the institutions that were created after World War II, and they see a potential alliance of populists around the world who would fight Islam and restore a certain semblance of traditional values. Votes: 0

I think, from a progressive point of view, to have a Democratic Congress and a Democratic White House, and to have spent the time on Obamacare, which had real benefits, 20 million insured, but not on inequality, was a major cost to the Democratic Party, costing them their majorities, but also a bit of a cost to the country, because it didn't address the fundamental issues that led to Donald Trump and that led to a lot of unhappiness, just the continued widening inequality. Votes: 0

I think Barack Obama's foreign policy will be regarded more failure than success. Votes: 0

Donald Trump didn't emerge from the orthodoxy of the Republican Party. And so there's going to be bigger differences than normal. Votes: 0

Putin has been - and with a lot of the groups, the conservative groups, the more extreme conservative groups that underlie Trump, he's a bit of a hero because he speaks for traditional values, he's against the global institutions. Votes: 0

Putin is someone who has been undermining the norms of what we consider the world order since he got into power and in increasing success. Votes: 0

Donald Trump's ego is like a comet the size of Jupiter just traveling through the solar system, and we all have to be affected by its gravitational pull. Votes: 0

Woe to you who insults the intelligence community, if you're president. Votes: 0

Donald Trump has a pre-modern monarchic family structure. His business is a monarchy with family members all around. His administration is a monarchy with family members all around. Votes: 0

I do think Donald Trump is a fundamentally unstabilizing force and that the people who swore to uphold the Constitution are going to have to take some measures at some point. Votes: 0

Donald Trump is this whirling dervish of chaos. He picked a fight with Mexico. Germany is not far behind. He will pick a fight with them. He will pick a fight with China, which would be truly cataclysmic. Votes: 0

The Republicans in Congress, they believe in Ronald Reagan's Republican Party, not Donald Trump Republican Party or Steve Bannon's Republican Party. Votes: 0

Donald Trump just needs the ego fed all the time. Votes: 0

Donald Trump is sort of an Orwellian figure, an authoritarian figure who is twisting words in an Orwellian manner, "1984," to exercise power and control people's minds, or is he a 5-year-old who has an ego that needs to be fed, and the universe has to warp around his ego needs so he can feel good about himself, and everybody has to produce photos to make the monarch feel like he's made of gold. Votes: 0

You have to have a plan, or else you're just creating a recipe for chaos. Votes: 0

When you're in governance, you understand the limitations and the complexities of governance. Votes: 0

The policies of the Democratic Party have always been in cultural consonance with the culture of the working class. And, somehow, they missed that. Votes: 0

I have come to think we have to treat Donald Trump's tweets like Snapchat. It's just something that is going to go away. And it flies out of some region of his brain and it goes out into the ether. And usually it's on the realm of media. Votes: 0

When a president speaks that usually means a lot. Votes: 0

Charter schools are public schools. They're paid for publicly and they're part of the public system. They just have a more independent structure. Votes: 0

I think charter schools, choice, and frankly school standards need a champion. Votes: 0

It's hard for parents just to measure schools. Votes: 0

Just, as I have traveled around from school to school, whether it's project-based learning or an outward bound curriculum, it's very hard to tell the difference between charters and public anymore. There's no fine line. Votes: 0

Donald Trump's got to do some big changes, because what he was voted on. But when you think about how to do it, it would take massive expertise, which his people, believe me, do not have. Votes: 0

I think Donald Trump is going to find it very hard to do the kind of massive change he wants. Votes: 0

We have rapidly increasing technology, which is making life very good for people who are good at using words, and not so good for people who are not good at using words. Votes: 0

Through American history, we have had populist movements that often, often, often have this ugly racial element. But, often, there are warning signs of some deeper social and economic problem. Votes: 0

Donald Trump appalls me. I won't be shy about that. Votes: 0

Donald Trump's being authentic to what he ran on and what got elected. Votes: 0

If you thought Donald Trump was going to be swallowed up by the conventional Republican Party or by Washington, you were wrong. Votes: 0

We're no longer living in Tammany Hall America. Votes: 0

Personally, I think Mitt Romney would be a great secretary of state. Votes: 0

The corruption will come back to haunt the Trump administration. But mostly, it'll come back to haunt the American economy, as companies decide they can make money by rent-seeking, by getting money from government rather than earning it the old-fashioned way. Votes: 0

I just think, realistically, there's a lot of room outside the Trump populist right and the Bernie-Sanders-Elizabeth-Warren populist left. There are a lot of us who believe in open trade, open borders, a dynamic forward-looking economy, not a nostalgic economy, but do want to provide a significant level of social service or sort of economic Milton Friedman foreign policy, Ronald Reagan domestic policy, Franklin Roosevelt. And there's a lot of room in the center... Votes: 0

Populists love rich people. They just hate professionals. Votes: 0

Mitt Romney knows a lot. He's a very professional - a consummate professional. Votes: 0

If you're cutting deals with one company or another, eventually, there's going to be a quid pro quo. There's going to be a bribe. There's going to be something. Votes: 0

I'm of course nostalgic for Barack Obama all of a sudden. Votes: 0

I sort of feel we have to owe some respect to the process and owe some respect to the electorate and the people who voted Donald Trump, on the assumption that they have something to teach us. Votes: 0

Maybe you're willing to tolerate a lot of bigotry from Donald Trump if you say, just change things, just change things. Votes: 0

I think the voters who voted for Donald Trump certainly are willing to tolerate a lot of ugliness, but maybe, if you're in desperate circumstances, or you think America is deeply in trouble, you're willing to tolerate that without necessarily liking it. Votes: 0

The government is supposed to provide a level playing field where people can compete fairly. It's not supposed to cut deals with one company or another to do so. Votes: 0

Populists hate journalists, they hate teachers, they hate lawyers, but they tend to like rich people. There's something deeply consistent. Votes: 0

The ugliness can sometimes be super ugly, but also a warning sign of something down below. Votes: 0

I do think creating an open free-trade economy but with strong social support is the way to go. Votes: 0

Obamacare is woven into the fabric of health care. It's very hard to just rip it out, as Donald Trump sort of acknowledged with The Wall Street Journal. Votes: 0

I think Romney's foreign policy is sensible. Votes: 0

If I were Donald Trump, I would definitely not pick Mitt Romney because it's very easy for Mitt Romney to have have a separate foreign policy operatus in the State Department that would run a dissenting foreign policy from the White House foreign policy. There, I think the populist America-first foreign policy of Donald Trump does run against a potential rival. Votes: 0

You have got to have two things in education reform. You have got to have some flexibility, so people can figure out what to do. But you also have to have accountable, basically what the Common Core standards were, some sort of set of national standards, so we can measure. Votes: 0

Everyone is dividing based on demographic categories. Votes: 0

It's very hard to find an evangelical person under 45, let alone on some of the Christian college campuses, who has any tolerance for Donald Trump. Votes: 0

Our system is not only based on rules, but a series of self-restraints that we won't be as barbaric as we could be in competing for power because we know if we're all barbaric as we could be, the whole country and the whole society falls apart. Votes: 0

Every White House I have covered since Reagan, when I got here, power has been more concentrated in the White House than the one before. Votes: 0

Decision-making power, whether it's on foreign affairs or domestic affairs, is concentrated in the White House in a reasonably small circle. Votes: 0

It's rare in an administration for a secretary of state and a secretary of defense to get along really well. Votes: 0

I certainly hear a lot of people say that Donald Trump not only incited some bad things. He also exposed some things. He exposed pain in America that a lot of us didn't have the full extent of, some of the divisions and chasms in the country. Votes: 0

The moral foundation of the society, the way we interact with each other is more fundamental than the Supreme Court. Votes: 0

Parties that are majority parties are incoherent parties. Votes: 0

The idea that when you correct a fact, you erase that fact from people's memories is the reverse of the truth. When you correct a fact, what you do is you further lodge that fact into people's minds, and they remember the error. Votes: 0

What you hear in focus groups and conversations, people will give you 20 minutes of rage about how the borders are out of control. But then you start saying, practically, what are we going to do about it? What are we going to do about the 11 million here? What are we going to do to get some workers we need for the farms? Then people start having a normal conversation. Votes: 0

When you talk about the problem of illegal immigration, people are angry and polarized. When you talk about the answers, the debate gets a little different. Votes: 0

Donald Trump is so egregious in the way he talks about women, the way he allegedly treated women. Votes: 0

There is the English language and then there's the Trump language. Votes: 0

We actually have to have a government. We have to have people confirmed and put into office. Votes: 0

For us going forward, it's to not reverse the dynamism of American society and the diversity. It's to pay attention to the people who are being ruined by it, and so this doesn't happen again. Votes: 0

I think globalization has been really good for America. Votes: 0

I do think Hillary Clinton should have pivoted and say, I am change, I am change, because people do want some change. Votes: 0

People who don't like Trump really don't like Trump. And I guess I'm among them. Votes: 0

Hillary Clinton continues to say Donald Trump's unacceptable, he doesn't have the character to be president. He is saying - continues saying she needs to be in prison. Votes: 0

Those cultural wars, Sexual Revolution issues are fading from the scene, and the coming generation has basically settled them. Votes: 0

Basically, less educated or high school-educated whites are going to Donald Trump. It doesn't matter what the guy does. And college-educated going to Hillary Clinton. Votes: 0

The party cannot be competitive nationally unless it's competitive in California, Oregon, Washington, New England, Pennsylvania, along the coasts. And the problem for the party is, you can't get there from here. You can't start out where the current Republicans are and win back those places. To me, what you have to do is create a different Republican Party that can win in those places. Votes: 0

There is a virtue in shamelessness. Votes: 0

If we're in some sort of Hobbesian state of nature, where you just want a strong man who has no compassion Donald Trump is going to do a little better. So, we will figure out what game we're playing. Votes: 0

[Donald Trump] will be the one on offense. He will be the one serving volleys, and it may be some weird stuff about the Russians, but he will be controlling things a little more than he probably did over the last two weeks. Votes: 0

I expect [Donald] Trump to do what he's done very successfully, which is, whether you like him or not, he will be the dominant player . Votes: 0

Of those two [Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump], I do think that the - right now, at least in my mind, the Democratic theme is eclipsing the Republican one. Votes: 0

I really think of [Donald] Trump erratic. I think that was the big message that came out. The positive agenda for Hillary [Clinton] was a little less vibrant. Votes: 0

For the Republican Convention, I think of Trump's speech and sort of the darkness, the fear of crime, the need for a strong arm really, and so that one core theme. Votes: 0

Donald Trump tried to set up this debate where it was going to be globalists vs. nationalists, and the Republicans were going to be the nationalists. But, if anything, the Democrats looked more patriotic and more nationalist at the end of these two. Votes: 0

Labor-rich manufacturing doesn't exist anymore. Manufacturing jobs are white-collar, Silicon Valley programmers or highly-skilled technicians. They are not going to employ lots of people. Votes: 0

It's important for presidents to emotionally connect, with the country in times of crisis, but also with people in Washington. If you can't emotionally connect - and [Barack] Obama is not the greatest, but he can at least do it - then people won't be with you when the times are hard. Votes: 0

There will just always be a distance between you and the people around you. Now, [Hillary Clinton] can clearly emotionally connect with her intimates within the zone of trust. It's just the wall outside the zone of trust is so impermeable. Votes: 0

Hillary Clinton is still - she's such a private person. Votes: 0

The idea that a big country is going to go out and send troops into some country to take their resources, and then the rest of the world is going to somehow trust us is just a ridiculous notion. Votes: 0

Plunder is morally wrong. It ruins your credibility. Votes: 0

If you go in a confirmation process, you're going to be asked about the embarrassing or stupid things you said. You should have a view. Votes: 0

You have got to be loyal to people beneath you. Votes: 0

Barack Obama won such a big electoral mandate because a lot of people thought he was - transcended partisan and ideological barriers and was going to put aside the old debates. So, he was able to get a lot of moderates and a lot of independents. Votes: 0

You have a country that is 20 percent liberal, 40 percent conservative. You have a country where maybe 22 percent have faith in government. If you're a liberal, it's just going to be tough. And you should just expect that. And it's tough for people on the right, too, because they don't get what they want either if you're, say, a libertarian. So, you have got the country sort of against you. And, nevertheless, you have a president... Votes: 0

[Mitch Daniels] was not a bad governor. He could be playful, but - or communicator.I'm just saying it will - I think will be - every candidate comes into the White House, assuming if [Hillary Clinton] wins, or if she does win, with strengths and weaknesses. This will be a weakness, because this was such an easy moment to show some heart. Votes: 0

I think Mitch Daniels, the former governor of Indiana was a case of that, who was an outstanding administrator. Votes: 0

If we got rid of everybody in Washington who sold access for donations, then the town would be empty. But it's unseemly. Votes: 0

It's hard to imagine a party that is not corrupted by hatred. Votes: 0

Jim Stavridis is the former NATO commander who is sometimes on people's lists, also very plausible, self-possessed, someone with sobriety. Votes: 0

With the case of [Mike] Pence, giving a little aurora of likability to a candidate, a lead candidate who's a little lacking in that department. Votes: 0

I do think economic and social anxiety is the number one issue. And I'm pretty confident Hillary Clinton will be really riding that train pretty hard. Votes: 0

I'm beginning to think [Ted] Cruz had a good convention, that if [Donald] Trump goes down, Cruz is pretty well positioned to be the Republican major figure in four, six or even within two years. Votes: 0

Tim Kaine has been obviously a governor. He's been a senator. He's one of the smartest rising stars in the Democratic Party. He is very plausible as someone who could sit in and be president. Votes: 0

The three people who are most often talked about with Hillary Clinton, whether it's Tim Kaine or Vilsack or Cory Booker, they are three extremely nice people. Votes: 0

People who give money in large amount in politics are basically not altruistic.They have some issue. They have some interest.It may be preserving carried interest. But it's not altruistic. Votes: 0

People who give money in large amount in politics are basically not altruistic. Votes: 0

President Obama was the first president not to abide by the limits in the general election. Votes: 0

We are all fundamentally equal souls, and if you make a zillion dollars, you're not any better than anybody else spiritually. You're still an equal soul. Votes: 0

When you're running for president you have to take some risks and you've got to show people something fresh and you've got to stay interesting. Votes: 0

When you're running for president, you're a guest in the living room for four years. And if people don't think you're going to be around the living room as a pleasant experience, they're not going to vote for you even if they agree with you. Votes: 0

No matter where you are on politics, I think it is wonderful to see candidates funding campaigns not by talking to a very small number of very rich people, but by reaching out to a very large number of citizens. Votes: 0

I wasn't born with a tie or with Mark Shields stapled to my left hip. I have another life. Votes: 0

Some people think humility is thinking lowly of yourself. Some people think it's not thinking about yourself. But, to me, the best definition of humility is radical self-awareness from a distance, seeing themselves from a distance and saying, what's my problem? Votes: 0

We live in a culture of a big me. We're encouraged - we raise our kids to think how great they are, where we have to market ourselves to get through life. We're in social media, where we broadcast highlight - highlight reels of our own lives on Facebook. Votes: 0

That is the job of the Catholic Church, to be a balance to the materialistic drives of our culture and of economy. Votes: 0

As a director, I like trying to unlock the subtext of the scene and try to put the camera in a place that helps that. Votes: 0

It's a completely irrational decision to drop out of school. Votes: 0

I came to the conclusion is that we have a very shallow view of human nature in the policy world. We're really good at talking about material things, really bad at talking about emotions, really good at stuff we can count, really bad at the deeper stuff that actually drives behavior. Votes: 0

We don't have the choice to control our emotions, but we do have the power to educate our emotions. And we do that through literature and through art and music to give ourselves a repertoire of emotional experiences. Votes: 0

Often, I go and see films where I can see the beats coming. So, if I read something where I don't see the beats coming and it takes me somewhere unexpected, that's a great thing to build upon. Votes: 0

The brain writes the autobiography of our species at the conscious level. Votes: 0

People tend to marry people with similar-width noses, eyes similarly apart, with complementary immune systems. Votes: 0

If you do something really cognitively demanding, like buying furniture, it turns out buying furniture is one of the most difficult things we do. Go into a furniture store and look at a sofa. Votes: 0

I'm not the most emotionally attuned guy in the world. My wife says that me writing about emotion is like Gandhi writing about gluttony. Votes: 0

The gun becomes this psychological totem, this thing of who I am. And it's almost as if using the gun is going to be the thing that's going to be my expression of how I make a difference in the world. Votes: 0

I was really fortunate that I went to a high school where we actually had a film theory program. Votes: 0

The technology's going to change, but what people want to read is going to be basically the same. Votes: 0

I learned I'm not a science writer. I'm not very good at describing how something is happening. I try to describe "So What?" Votes: 0

If you know that most processing is below the level of awareness, you learn the value of sleep. You're brain is working on the problem anyway. Votes: 0

I take a benign view of digital connectedness. I notice in most young people's lives, Facebook and such doesn't replace normal dating or hanging out, it just facilitates it. Votes: 0

One of the frustrations about the modern world is that we don't even have a good vocabulary to describe our state. The word sentiment sounds mushy [but] sentiment is not mushy. Votes: 0

I don't think history will ever be a science because history will never be reduced to law-like behavior. People are to unpredictable. Votes: 0

Economists sometimes do try to reduce behavior to law-like predictability. But people respond differently to different primes, to different contexts even from one moment to the next. We possess multiple selves that are aroused by different circumstances. Votes: 0

Benjamin Netanyahu is a fascinating figure.We say Nixonian about a lot of people. He really is Nixonian. He's brilliant. He's very isolated and insular. Votes: 0

I think that it's an arguable position, whether with Hamas and ISIS around, whether there should be a Palestinian state, but it's a defensible position, given the current circumstances. Votes: 0

Fundamentalism is still on the march. Votes: 0

I don't think the Palestinians are in this position they're in, divided with Hamas and the P.A., unwilling to allow - or recognize Israel as a Jewish state. Votes: 0

Israel is a country of six million people. They need the U.S. It used to be bipartisan on Israeli politics. You never messed with that relationship. The fact that [ Benjamin] Netanyahu is willing to do that, I thought would horrify voters more than it turned out it did. Votes: 0

I think the Republican budget priorities are messed up. I salute for the way they're attacking some of the entitlement programs, but they are taking huge cuts, by pretending they're just block-granting it to the states, out of Medicaid, from the least fortunate. Votes: 0

Putin's an egomaniac, so there are two ways he can process his ego mania. He can say, "Oh, I stood up to the U.S.," or, "Hey, I'm essential to the world order." Votes: 0

If you grow up in a home where actions don't lead to predictable consequences, you don't develop strategies to control your impulses. Votes: 0

The people who really have character make deep, unshakable connections to something outside themselves. Votes: 0

I do think trying to live each day as a bunch of moral occasions, did I live up to what I would hope, and, if I didn't, what can I do tomorrow to be a little better, I do think we can improve. We get better at life as we get older. Votes: 0

The drugs are just growing all around the country, and so, it all feeds into problems that are not just urban, but are just spread throughout the country. Votes: 0

The incumbents just have a ton more money because they have rigged the system to help themselves, because they have these networks of small donors. Meanwhile, the amount of people, the incumbents being reelected has just been - that has been going up and up and up. Votes: 0

I want to limit the effects of the power of donors, no question about it. Votes: 0

A heroic moral victory for the New York Mets,. It may be the only kind of victory we're achieving this season, but he set a good example for professional athletes and the rest of us. Votes: 0

We have an international system. We all profit from it. Trade profits from it. Peace. We can travel around the world because of it. And part of that system is certain ideas, the certain ideas you can't invade other countries for no reason. You can't commit genocide. You can't - rogue regimes can't have nuclear weapons, and you can't gas your own people. Votes: 0

I wouldn't say philosophy and theology are dead. Brain science doesn't invent new philosophies but it helps remind us which of our existing philosophies are more true. Votes: 0

I want to try to make big films that hopefully connect with people. Votes: 0

I want to make big films. That's always been my ambition. Votes: 0

It's impossible for one person to think of everything. Votes: 0

I don't know if I'm sexist, though I have not paid much attention to the women's bracket. Votes: 0

I agree with the idea of cutting [budget], but it should all be coming out of entitlements for the affluent and not out of domestic discretionary, which is welfare, education, all the stuff the government does, parks, FBI, and it shouldn't be coming out of Medicaid. Votes: 0

I do think British and American politics rhyme. They go in cycles. They go in Thatcher-Reagan cycles, Blair-Clinton cycles. Votes: 0

Trade agreements are a net benefit for the world, and a net benefit for our foreign policy, and in the long run, given the dislocations, are a net benefit for us, too. Votes: 0

Since 2005, a majority of Americans, according to the Gallup poll, have said it was wrong and a mistake to go into Iraq. Votes: 0

The natural human reaction is to greet hatred with hatred, revenge by revenge. That's the natural genetic reaction. Votes: 0

When your institution is under assault, you're feeling like the weight is on it and the history might be flowing away, don't turn inward, go outward. Votes: 0

When your institution is under threat, you feel you have a lot of hostility, you feel things are slipping away, you have got internal problems, there's a tendency to turn inward and to focus on yourselves. Votes: 0

I think the presidency is a bad way to measure the effective campaign finance, because in the presidency, there is so much publicity, there's so much money floating around. Votes: 0

We have the choice to choose how we're going to educate our emotions. Votes: 0