A lot of people think Barack Obama should have responded to the Russian hacking of the U.S. elections weeks ago, months ago.… — David Brooks Copy Share Image
Trade has suddenly become massively unpopular. I think that's massively unjust. I think free trade has been wonderful for America on balance. — David Brooks America Copy Share Image
I think the Democrats are right to protest, but I don't think Jeff Sessions is so far out of the range of… — David Brooks Democracy Copy Share Image
When your institution is under assault, you're feeling like the weight is on it and the history might be flowing away, don't… — David Brooks Assault Copy Share Image
Institutions do all the things that are supposed to be bad. They impede personal exploration. They enforce conformity. But they often save… — David Brooks Community Copy Share Image
America is not just a democracy, it represents a certain culture of competitive mobility and personality aspirations, politics is not merely a… — David Brooks America Copy Share Image
“Angela Duckworth has shown how important grit and perseverance are to lifetime outcomes. College students who report that they finish whatever they… — David Brooks Character Copy Share Image
“Nearly every parent on earth operates on the assumption that character matters a lot to the life outcomes of their children. Nearly… — David Brooks Bureaucracy Copy Share Image
“Researchers have done a lot of work over the past few years analyzing social networks. It turns out almost everything is contagious.… — David Brooks Copy Share Image
[Betsy DeVos] does care about charter schools, which are public schools. She does care about choice, which is a perfectly legitimate thing… — David Brooks Care Copy Share Image
If there is a series of attacks like that or, God forbid, if ISIS is really sending soldiers across Europe and maybe… — David Brooks Copy Share Image
Self-actualization is what educated existence is all about. For members of the educated class, life is one long graduate school. When they… — David Brooks Actualization Copy Share Image
If you're running a successful administration, then you're loyal to people who are basically good who make a mistake. And that seems… — David Brooks Copy Share Image
The things that make them similar - their machismo, their expansionary braggadocio - is going to turn them I think into bitter… — David Brooks Copy Share Image
“(William) Deresiewicz offers a vision of what it takes to move from adolescence to adulthood. Everyone is born with a mind, he… — David Brooks Actualization Copy Share Image
We pretend to be a middle class, democratic nation, but in reality we love our blue bloods. ... We love the prep… — David Brooks Aristocratic Copy Share Image
The politics is broken up and down. And Trump may emerge from a reality TV world that is much more powerful than… — David Brooks Copy Share Image
Almost every successful person begins with two beliefs: the future can be better than the present, and I have the power to… — David Brooks Being successful Copy Share Image
For those of us who believe in it, there has to be a movement that says, "We still believe in trade. We… — David Brooks Copy Share Image
I do think trying to live each day as a bunch of moral occasions, did I live up to what I would… — David Brooks Copy Share Image
I wouldn't say philosophy and theology are dead. Brain science doesn't invent new philosophies but it helps remind us which of our… — David Brooks Brain Copy Share Image
If we're in some sort of Hobbesian state of nature, where you just want a strong man who has no compassion Donald… — David Brooks Compassion Copy Share Image
I don't think the Palestinians are in this position they're in, divided with Hamas and the P.A., unwilling to allow - or… — David Brooks Copy Share Image
People ask, quite legitimately, why [Betsy] DeVos and why not a lot of the others? But it's because it has to do… — David Brooks Copy Share Image
The idea that a big country is going to go out and send troops into some country to take their resources, and… — David Brooks Copy Share Image
Economists sometimes do try to reduce behavior to law-like predictability. But people respond differently to different primes, to different contexts even from… — David Brooks Behavior Copy Share Image
“First, they had good character. They were energetic, honest, and dependable. They were persistent after setbacks and acknowledged their mistakes.” — David Brooks Character Copy Share Image
Donald Trump tried to set up this debate where it was going to be globalists vs. nationalists, and the Republicans were going… — David Brooks Debate Copy Share Image
It’s worth noting that you can devote your life to community service and be a total schmuck. You can spend your life… — David Brooks Community Copy Share Image
“You should start your life with the illusion that you are completely in control of what you do. You should finish life… — David Brooks Copy Share Image
I have come to think we have to treat Donald Trump's tweets like Snapchat. It's just something that is going to go… — David Brooks Brain Copy Share Image
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… — David Brooks Copy Share Image
I would like to see an animating passion. Tim Kaine actually had a good line. What animated you before you got into… — David Brooks Copy Share Image
We are all fundamentally equal souls, and if you make a zillion dollars, you're not any better than anybody else spiritually. You're… — David Brooks Dollars Copy Share Image
When you cover politics, you realize that knowing how to talk about character matters more and more. The way we hold ideas… — David Brooks Character Copy Share Image
The idea that when you correct a fact, you erase that fact from people's memories is the reverse of the truth. When… — David Brooks Copy Share Image
Republicans are living in a hermetically sealed Republican universe, just as Democrats are. And so they're responding to their own universe, even… — David Brooks Democracy Copy Share Image
“If the outer mind hungers for status, money, and applause, the inner mind hungers for harmony and connection—those moments when self-consciousness fades… — David Brooks Love Copy Share Image
If you grow up in a home where actions don't lead to predictable consequences, you don't develop strategies to control your impulses. — David Brooks Action Copy Share Image
It's just a lot safer to be an incumbent. So I think they have used the campaign finance reforms. They have passed… — David Brooks Campaign finance Copy Share Image
![“[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.” quote by David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8e/david-brooks-644_care_betsy-devos-does-care-about-charter-scho_1106776.png)
![“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…” quote by David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96f/david-brooks-644_attacks_if-there-is-a-series-of-attacks-like-tha_2798089.png)
![“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.” quote by David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/727/david-brooks-644_asks_people-ask-quite-legitimately-why-betsy_1876149.jpg)
