Mitch McConnell Quotes

People are more sophisticated in the way they go about dealing with the press.

People are terrified for their own reputations. They want the press on their side.

I hate dealing with the press. But I think it is a necessary evil.

I'm envious of people that can handle the press. No matter what I say or how articulately I say it, it always comes back to the same issues. And it's getting kind of old.

We studied Western journalists' reporting methods, fed them story ideas, steered them toward sympathetic interviewees, and supplied them with the revolutionary movement's facts and figures.

In all my life I have treated the press with marked contempt and had remarkable success.

Honestly, everybody gets talked about. Some people control their press a little more than others. Some people feed the press and move it the way they want to. I don't do that.

Talking to the press is not always good.

I'd rather have the media as my friends than making use of them for my own benefit.

Here's a certainty: When you play out your personal dramas, hurt and self-interest in the media, it's a confection. You say what you have to say in the way you have to say it to give it media currency - and that's always far from the truth. Often, in fact, someone else says it for you. It's all planned. It's all rehearsed.

As press secretary, I spent countless hours defending the administration from the podium in the White House briefing room.

With legitimate journalists I've always had a great time - I've never gone out of my way to court the press. That's probably cost me some money, but I've always had the respect of my peers.

I get along fine with the press.

If you aren't overly effusive or really nicey-nice with the press, you get a reputation for being outspoken or difficult.

I don't stage my own publicity.

Wooing the press is an exercise roughly akin to picnicking with a tiger. You might enjoy the meal, but the tiger always eats last.

The genius of David Petraeus has always been his masterful manipulation of the media.

I've been dealing with the press for 45 years. You need a very long spoon to sup with them. While you are always grateful, they are like badly trained dogs. They smile and wag and bite your arm off.

I've never played the PR game.

I understood public relations and always maintained a high profile.

Most of the press is sent to my publicist so I do see most of what is written about me.

I know certain techniques, such as a press release that looks like a newscast. So you use it because you want your man to win.

My New Year's resolution is to make sure I genuflect appropriately before the Chicago media on everything I do.

If you open yourself up to a wade variety of press questions, the press sets the agenda, not you.

Politicians generally don’t volunteer for press encounters they can’t control.