David Maraniss Quotes

I loved Clinton; not as a Democrat, but as a person.

You can be a great president and be ridden with flaws. Of course we know that.

But Bill Clinton had the good taste to lie about his sexual peccadillos. He had the honor and the decency to want to cover it up.

Ronald Reagan had many fine qualities and he had many shortcomings. He's not the simple, folksy figure that he's often portrayed as.

With Clinton, there's no question that I would have made fun of his out-and-out lying. But he's also a good friend.

To be fair, my analysis failed to spell out Obama's first-term accomplishments, although I did acknowledge his 'enormous skills' and tried to focus readers on the distinction between good and great presidencies.

I've never been a Clinton fan. He's had some accomplishments, and he's very skilled at politics, but, you know, he's had some successes and a very good economy. And the question is how much or how little of that does he deserve credit for.

As if one could know the good a person is capable of, when one doesn't know the bad he might do.

I believe that Bill Clinton will be remembered as one of our nation's great Presidents, and Senator Clinton as one of our nation's great public servants.

For instance, Clinton who was unquestionably the smartest of the bunch I talked to - both the ones who made it and didn't. He had a great interest in policy.

I think George W. Bush has a warm, engaging personality. But, you know, the presidency is more than just a popularity contest.

Jimmy Carter is the most intelligent. Jimmy Carter is a good man.

It taught me that Clinton's instinct to make this about your life as a citizen, rather than his as a human being, was the right answer to these things.

I think President Clinton was probably the brightest President of the 20th century.

Now, today is the day we honor, of course, the Presidents, ranging from George Washington, who couldn't tell a lie, to George Bush, who couldn't tell the truth, to Bill Clinton, who couldn't tell the difference.

The older I get the more I realize there's no real good guys or real bad guys, and I'm curious about how the good guys got good and how the bad guys got bad.

Bill Clinton smoked Marijuana but he didn't inhale, he spent time with a woman but he didn't sleep with her, he received a draft notice but didn't read it. Why give him the White House; he won't use it.

I believe that [Bill] Clinton is the best tactical politician, certainly in my lifetime.

I’ve never felt that his private life was the way to judge him. We should judge a president by the way he performs as president.

Tim Kaine is a good man.

Tony Blair is one of the most significant world leaders of the modern era. He has a remarkable story to tell. His tenure as prime minister was marked by close relationships with Presidents Clinton and George W. Bush, and he enjoys a profile in this country that is rare among foreign leaders.

I want people to see the full measure of Donald Trump.

I love what Joe Eszterhas written about Bill Clinton. It's hilarious, Clinton as a rock star, which is the way we should remember him.

Because John McCain stood up, our country is better off. The respect he is given around the world is not because of a teleprompter speech designed to appeal to American critics abroad but because of decades of clearly demonstrated character and statesmanship.

Humans are the most complicated, nuanced things that exist. We can't be reduced to labels or summed up with five traits - even if they are the Big Five.