Rob Portman Quotes

Hardworking families can no longer afford to wait for a Congress that gridlocks on ideology. I look forward to working with my colleagues from both parties to get things done.

There is a growing sense among Americans outside the Beltway that while President Obama may be a good talker, he is a lousy manager.

Presidents are evaluated not by what they did by the stroke of their own pen; it's what they persuade Congress to do.

You'll never get progress in Washington until you have a majority, bipartisan majority, that really wants to solve problems.

We saw what happened in Jimmy Carter's administration. President Carter was a good man with the best of intentions. But he came to Washington without a good working relationship with Democratic members of Congress, which played a big part in his administration's problems.

While we face economic obstacles that challenge every decision made in Washington, decisions made merely for political gain must stop. It's time to restore civility in Congress. It's time for action where action is needed - all politics aside.

The function of the politician, therefore, is one of continuous watchfulness and activity, and he must have intimate knowledge of details if he would work out grand results.

If Mr. Obama wants to get things done, he must recognize that in Washington only the president has the power to make the first big move.

We need new energy back in Washington.

I am prepared to admit that when it comes to dealing with the House and Senate leaders, Obama is terrible. But he's great with the public. Which hates the House and Senate as much as he does.

We will govern as if we had a majority. You simply carry on with your agenda.

You cannot bring inexperienced men ... into the government and expect the government to run well.

The first essential for a Prime Minister is to be a good butcher.

The Congress must regain the will to govern.

I work for him [President Lyndon B. Johnson] despite his faults and he lets me work for him despite my deficiencies.

People want to cut the childish political posturing. With the problems facing the country, our campaigns have become an embarrassment to democracy.

All presidents get frustrated with Congress.

After President Obama's election in 2008, there was a widespread hope that it would mark an end to unseemly partisan nastiness.

I am basically a supporter of Barack Obama - it is not easy to be a post-partisan president in a hyper-partisan era.

President Obama makes fantastic stump speeches, but putting together an actual agenda is more complicated.

I just want to work with legislative council members from across the political spectrum to get things done.

We need Congress to do more than just engage in partisan games.

I will keep working with both parties in the House to get things done for people in our District.

I come from a government in Indiana where we did get things done.

I worked for President Bush and President Obama. I had Democratic bosses and Republican bosses. I believe in order to actually get things done, we do need to buckle down and often reach across the aisle.