Richard Ben Cramer Quotes

This trend of reporting process over substance is unfortunate, if omnipresent. Even worse is the media's inability - or unwillingness - to fact-check Republicans who are angry about the Democrats trying to debate and vote on Iraq policy.

The news is what it is. It's going to be good, it's going to be positive, it's going to be negative. It's going to have all sorts of effects on candidates always.

We’re not going to let our campaign be dictated by fact-checkers.

A lot of news is just entertainment masquerading as news.

Cable news is more titillating to talk about who's up and who's down and all that nonsense as opposed to what's actually done.

Palin, Limbaugh, Glenn Beck and others have made an art form of convincing far too many Americans to suspend their disbelief, and they have severely damaged the ability of our country to have serious discussions about serious challenges.

It still surprises me when I find something in any North Carolina newspaper that isn't mad at me about something.

We have Democrats saying dumb things every single day, and Republicans as well.

I think the media loves taking the most absurd clips for a sport that has become congressional politics.

We know that the far left and their media allies can't beat us on the issues, so instead they'll distort our records. Let's not do the job for them, OK, Republicans? OK, independents?

Television doesn't like politics very well, if you can infer that from the way they cover it.

Just a few months ago in the Republican primary Mitt Romney said to his opponents, who he was crushing at the time, stop whining. And I think that's a good message for the Romney campaign. Instead of whining about what the Obama campaign is saying, why don't you just put the facts out there and let people decide rather than trying to hide them.

I made a decision when I ran for president that I wouldn't whine about my coverage in the media, and I never did.

Journalism never admits that nothing much is happening.

The [TV evening] news usually defines the candidate for the public.

Why do Republicans fear debate? For the same reason baloney fears the slicer.

Republican pundits always believe Republicans are going to win; Democratic pundits always believe Democrats are going to win.

Television has become the primary precinct of politics.

The job of a political correspondent is the challenge the people in power. If you are in power, I will challenge you.

I speak to people for whom the issues are a mixed bag; they are liberal on some, conservative on others, middle of the road on the rest. But politicians don't take their cues from those people. No, politicians emulate the world of punditry.

Party leaders aren't responsible for every candidate's gaffe.

To join in the political fray, I don't think it convinces anyone. It just becomes a talking point on CNN.

Asking presidential candidates whether they support or would change past foreign policy decisions is the most common line of questioning among members of the media. It's also the most pointless.

The 'New York Times' undertakes extreme vetting against Republicans every single day.

There are so many political talk shows out there that are doing such a good job that it would be foolish of me to try to get in the ring with them.