James Russell Lowell Quotes

The days of the Pentagon Papers debates seem long past, when a sudden transparency yielded insight into fights over war and peace and freedom and security; the transparency afforded by Twitter and Facebook yields insights that extend no further than a lawmaker's boundless narcissism and a culture's pitiless prurience.

The fact is that in a way, journalists become a kind of default in the system when you don't have substantive two-party back-and-forth inside of the government.

We've got to trust the politicians with these decisions.

In any operation as large as that of the federal government there are always going to be anomalies, mistakes and peccadilloes. The trick is to incite so much public (or at least media) outrage about them that the government has eventually to cut its losses rather than risk continued political damage.

The intoxication of power rapidly sobers off in the knowledge of its restrictions and under the prompt reminder of an ever-present and not always considerate press, as well as the kindly suggestions that not infrequently come from Congress.

The true Church of England, at this moment, lies in the Editors of the newspapers.

Politics is an impressionistic art form.

Legislatures react. Executives initiate.

Senators here were elected to the Senate and not to the caucus ... great questions of this sort should be debated in public and decided in public.

The Presidency is a four-year contract with the American electorate. But with television news, the American people can more easily monitor that contract, being sure every "i" is dotted and every "t" crossed.

You will always get more points for bashing the opposition than for defending the government, and practically none for giving an honest and considered reply.

When I first went to Washington [the senate], I thought, what is l'il ole me doing with these ninety-nine great people? Now I ask myself, what am I doing with those ninety-nine jerks?

Something that confirms all fears and many conspiracy theories about government is finding out what our elected representatives would put into law if they could.

I think the political class in Berlin doesn't need to be supervised and monitored by intelligence services in order to find out what they're thinking. Just go to lunch with them, go to dinner with them, or read the papers.

Is there some reason why the quality of people going into the parliament is not as high? I don't know the complete answer, but I think - in fact, I'm sure - that part of it is the increasing intrusiveness of the media - the general media and social media - into the private lives of politicians and their families.

One of the benefits of working outside the U.K. is that I don't have to keep fielding media/politicians' enquiries about 'Britishness' and its ills.

I think the American people deserve to have the issues debated, regardless of which side they're on, so that they are fully aware of what their representatives and senators are voting for and voting against.

Scandals never stop an administration unless the media wants them to stop an administration, which means that no scandal is ever gonna stop Obama.

The mystery of government is not how Washington works but how to make it stop.

As I have said before, that Federal Penal Code could never have been enacted into law if we had had a responsible press who was willing to tell the American people the truth about what it actually provides. Nor would we have had a bill had it not been for the United States Supreme Court.

Dialogue is the essence of parliamentary politics.

The back and forth between the press and government is essential to any good democracy.

The press has met their Waterloo, and it's Obama.

It is tough to run for public office and face an opponent, to decide on issues what is the best thing, then face the criticism from colleagues, voters, the press and defend yourself.

I'm not sure I buy the argument that the public is more mistrustful - the debate will always garner that kind of traction because anything the BBC does is always in the spotlight.