Michael Gerson Quotes

See that's a goal that I think it's very good in the debate to find out who the person is.

Many people - especially those people who earn livings by convincing editors and bookers that rich and influential strangers consider their thoughts and opinions interesting - have ideas about who should or should not run for president.

I have serious doubts about the value of debates in a presidential election. They tend to be a test of reaction time rather than a genuine exposition of the participants' philosophies and programs

Each of the participants [in a Presidential Debate] has a major objective and a minor one, in addition, of course, to appearing presidential. The major one is to get his messages across even if the questions don’t ask for them. The minor one is to avoid seeming unresponsive. That is why you will see the debaters answer some of the questions quickly, leaving time for what the candidate wants to talk about.

I spent four and a half hours debating Donald Trump in three debates, which I think should put to rest any questions about my stamina.

I can tell you is all nine of the people here [on debates] would make an infinitely better commander in chief than Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton.

I cannot believe that [Donald Trump] is actually in the debates.

I was able to do something that people can't do these days, which is to have quality time with the guys who were trying to be president and a number of them who got the job.

Anything can go wrong in a debate, and Obama is not a perfect debater.

You have had presidential candidates over the last 30 years who would have had a very hard time getting nominated under the old system. One example is John Kennedy.

The world of TV debates is antiquated. What looked smart and modern in 1960, with Kennedy versus Nixon, looks quaint and over-rehearsed between Obama and Romney. We need a new format; even if we have the same moderators and candidates, there needs to be a more nuanced way for audiences to connect with and shape presidential debates.

Al Gore adopted three utterly different personas in three national presidential debates.

When you campaign and have to participate in so many debates just to the win the nomination of your party, you've had a lot of practice. You get to figure out as you go from one debate to another where you made your mistakes. By the time you get to the big debate you're pretty polished.

Every candidate goes into every debate hoping that they can own a particular moment.

I remember that my mom, my dad and I would play different roles in mock debates, where one of us would be the moderator, one of us would be my dad - frequently not my dad - and then one of us would play his opponent.

I'd make a better U.S. president than George W. Bush. Bush is an idiot. I'm a better public speaker than him. It makes you wonder about the voters.

Those who know Governor Roosevelt [TR] must believe that he is much better fitted for the Presidency than is Mr. McKinley.

If you had let Frannie make you up the night of your debate with Kennedy, you would have been elected President.

Nobody running for political office was allowed to speak. The rules were so restrictive that unless you could get--which was impossible--both candidates for president of the United States to speak at the same time, you couldn't have either one of them.

Ernestine Rose was one of the best lecturers of her time. No orthodox man could meet her in debate.

You can make a successful run for political office without an especially thick resume, any exceptional talent for expressing yourself, a noteworthy education or for that matter a basic grasp of science.

The way candidates react, immediately and usually involuntarily, while caught by the camera dominates impressions of who has “won” or “list” an encounter [political debate].

The 1980 Republican presidential contest might have been as good a roster of candidates as ever fielded by any party.

I propose a full day of live one-on-one debates on unannounced issues, with no aides to help or reply. Each candidate would be paired with another candidate for seven 60-minute sessions.

Live TV is physically grueling. I'm concentrating very hard to recall numbers, dates and events to bolster my argument and win a debate. Every eight to 10 minutes, a new sport or topic is thrown at me.