American politics is theatre. There is a frightening emotionalism at national conventions. — Robert Dallek Copy Share Image
After one party loses two elections in a row, there's sort of blood in the water. — Robert Dallek Copy Share Image
How many State of the Union addresses do people remember? They don't resonate that way. — Robert Dallek Copy Share Image
There are limits on what a president can achieve or do, but the expectations are so great. — Robert Dallek Copy Share Image
At the start of first terms, presidents invariably have a measure of goodwill. — Robert Dallek Copy Share Image
Presidents are not only the country's principal policy chief, shaping the nation's domestic and foreign agendas, but also the most visible example… — Robert Dallek Copy Share Image
Governing is one thing, campaigning is another - and the latter becomes far more pronounced in an election-year State of the Union. — Robert Dallek Copy Share Image
Like Lyndon Johnson, President Obama understands that timidity in a time of troubles is a prescription for failure. — Robert Dallek Copy Share Image
A president cannot sit on his hands and be seen as passive in the face of ruthless action by a foreign dictator. — Robert Dallek Copy Share Image
President Obama can talk about having no grand schemes and making no big gains, but the reality is he can't get anything… — Robert Dallek Copy Share Image
There are examples of ex-presidents speaking out. Jimmy Carter has not held back on a variety of issues. Harry Truman didn't. — Robert Dallek Copy Share Image
The nation should be able to remove by an orderly constitutional process any president with an unyielding commitment to failed policies and… — Robert Dallek Copy Share Image
Presidents by six years have been there long enough for the media and the country to see their flaws. — Robert Dallek Copy Share Image
Despite all the public hand-wringing about negative advertising, political veterans will tell you that it persists because, more often than not, it… — Robert Dallek Copy Share Image
Vice President Biden's surprising declaration of unqualified support for gay marriage seems to have forced President Obama into a public endorsement of… — Robert Dallek Copy Share Image
Whatever the long-term legal prospects for same-sex marriage, President Obama's willingness to put the matter front and center in an election year… — Robert Dallek Copy Share Image
When Gingrich attacked CNN's John King for bringing up his alleged proposal of an open marriage to his second wife, Gingrich accused… — Robert Dallek Copy Share Image
Ronald Reagan in foreign affairs, I think, was someone who had certain, very general ideas, general propositions by which he lives: To… — Robert Dallek Copy Share Image
Allegations that President Clinton pardoned Marc Rich partly in return for donations to his presidential library have raised questions about the value… — Robert Dallek Copy Share Image
By the time a second term rolls around, the illusions about a president have largely evaporated. — Robert Dallek Copy Share Image
Presidential aspirants reach for the highest office to satisfy some yearning for greatness or even immortality. — Robert Dallek Copy Share Image
Obama's endorsement of gay marriage is hardly as consequential as Johnson's legislative success on civil rights. — Robert Dallek Copy Share Image
Don't be intimidated by people who seem to be experts. Hear their points of view and get their judgements. But at the end of… — Robert Dallek Copy Share Image
During his presidency, Truman and the Republicans were locked in a series of furious assaults on each other that outraged him and made Truman… — Robert Dallek Copy Share Image
Experience helped Richard Nixon, but it didn't save him, and it certainly wasn't a blanket endorsement. He blundered terribly in dealing with Vietnam. — Robert Dallek Copy Share Image
When Gingrich attacked CNN's John King for bringing up his alleged proposal of an open marriage to his second wife, Gingrich accused him of… — Robert Dallek Copy Share Image
In seeking an empire of liberty, Jefferson wished not only to expand the country's territorial holdings, but also to extend American institutions around the… — Robert Dallek Copy Share Image
Like Lyndon Johnson, President Obama understands that timidity in a time of troubles is a prescription for failure. — Robert Dallek Copy Share Image
Despite its flaws, the American electoral system has produced Lincoln, the two Roosevelts, and Harry Truman. — Robert Dallek Copy Share Image
For those of us who cry out for gun control, our fears cannot be eliminated as long as the country remains an armed camp… — Robert Dallek Copy Share Image
The Atlantic conference in the North Atlantic off Newfoundland is a dramatic moment in World War II history because for the first time, Roosevelt… — Robert Dallek Copy Share Image
For style and for creating a mood of optimism and hope - Kennedy on that count is as effective as any president the country… — Robert Dallek Copy Share Image
As for Vietnam, what matters is that Kennedy successfully resisted pressure to send anything more than military advisers, a stance that was a likely… — Robert Dallek Copy Share Image
