Karl Rove Quotes

Washington isn't a city, it's an abstraction.

Governing today means giving acceptable signs of credibility. It is like advertising and it is the same effect that is achieved—commitment to a scenario.

It’s not only what you do in politics. It’s what you appear to do.

When you live in Washington, D.C., you do get a sense, in a very direct way, of the durability of our government and really, the greatness of the American system.

Washington, D.C. is a city filled with people who believe they are important.

We hate those in power in Washington D.C. and anything bad that happens to them is good for us.

Washington is a city of arrogance.

Politics is the business of managing perceptions.

Washington: A city obsessed with the present.

To be thought rich is as good as to be rich.

The only accountability-free zone in America: Washington DC.

Because of its rhetorical power, the Founding Fathers mythos is always going to be invoked for rhetorical legitimacy.

Washington is a mirror reflecting our instinct.

No democracy pretends to be a tyranny. Most tyrannies pretend they are democracies. Democracy remains the definition of political legitimacy.

Who knows? Maybe someday I'll be living in the White House.

In the film industry, you are fictitious, just like the characters you play. It has a lot do with a perception about you, and not necessarily you. You are successful because people like that image of you on screen.

In politics, what appears is.

Washington, or as I like to call it, 68 square miles surrounded by reality.

In Washington, D.C., they don't do real work.

Everyone thinks footballers have a great life and drive great cars, but sometimes you have to pull the veil away and look behind.

Leadership is important in politics.

People seem to think I got where I am because of the clothes that I wear.

This perception that we can be stars without any work and just appear is rubbish.

I've always wondered: is there really any access to the White House?

I'm fascinated by people who can keep who they are in the midst of this business, which is all about not only pretending to be other people, but also that perception of who you are and how successful you are and your standing in the business.