George Packer Quotes

What is the primary purpose of a political leader? To build a majority. If voters care about parking lots, then talk about parking lots.

I've always said the left needs to be ready for government.

The most successful politician is he who says what the people are thinking most often in the loudest voice.

The Romney candidacy is better than it was four years ago, but it's not clear that it's good. Mitt needs to get good real fast: A real speech, real plan, real responses, and real fire in the belly.

Every great political campaign rewrites the rules; devising a new way to win is what gives campaigns a comparative advantage against their foes.

If you are running for the presidency of the United States, you better have a strong opinion.

Politicians do not like to alienate voters no matter how lofty the goals.

When you run a campaign the idea is not to appeal to pundits but to appeal to people.

There are certain elections where policy matters more than others….Personality without a platform will not cut it.

Highly popular and unpopular Presidents do not engage in policy pandering.

I would do whatever I could to make Jeremy Corbyn more electable, but you've got to give me something to work with, mate.

I think you have to be careful. You have to know exactly what is going to resonate with voters. And you can't get ahead of that. You have to be very careful with your approach.

I'll be glad to reply to or dodge your questions, depending on what I think will help our election most.

It is clear from the reaction to our campaign so far that our message is resonating. I look forward to continuing to take this message to all Americans, and showing them that I can be as successful running the country as I was running the state of New Mexico.

I know I can serve Hawaii and our country well in the U.S. Senate, know we can mount a solid statewide campaign, know we have a good chance of prevailing.

The Washington establishment think Republicans win elections by you don't stand for anything, you keep your head down, you don't rock the boat. You know what? Every time we do that, we get clobbered in the polls.

In an age when stagecraft, gauzy themes, and sound-bites have too often been substituted for leadership, Bill Clinton as a candidate made it essential to campaigning to take the specifics of governance seriously. Practical solutions were 'in;' ideology was 'out.'

If you can't be a populist in Arkansas, you ain't going to be a populist in Washington.

We will not lose this election for lack of money.

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.

There are three opportunities that you have during a general election campaign where you can substantially move the needle of public opinion. One, is your convention speech; two, are the base; three, is the selection of your vice president.

What matters most in politics is personality. It's not issues; it's not image. It's who you are and what you represent.

The big secret to winning elections is to get more votes than your opponent. My friend Representative Robin Hayes is a good example to study.

If you're going to try to win an election, you can't be 80 percent. You can't say, I'm for what my Democratic opponent is, for but not quite so much of it.

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