#nat

AP promoted me to the White House beat because I knew Clinton, his family, friends, and staff better than anybody in the national press corps. Those contacts helped me break a few stories and get my career in Washington jump-started. ↗

— Ron Fournier

#beat #because #better #break #career

'Argo,' 'Lincoln,' and 'Zero Dark Thirty,' three films honored with Best Picture Oscar nominations, lionize their Washington-anchored protagonists as crafty, competent, and virtually incorruptible. ↗

— Ron Fournier

#best picture #competent #crafty #dark #films

By nominating Chuck Hagel to be his Defense secretary, President Obama is putting forward an aloof contrarian who doesn't suffer fools - a striving politician who considers himself above politics. ↗

— Ron Fournier

#aloof #chuck #considers #defense #fools

Close elections tend to break toward the challenger because undecided voters - having held out so long against the incumbent - are by nature looking for change. ↗

— Ron Fournier

#because #break #challenger #change #close

It's a bit unfair to accuse Obama of dividing the nation when the facts show that it already is. ↗

— Ron Fournier

#already #bit #dividing #facts #nation

Obama does not need to worry as much as past Democratic presidents about being labeled soft on national security - not after giving the order that led to the assassination of Osama bin Laden. No, his biggest concern is being labeled tone deaf on joblessness and debt. ↗

— Ron Fournier

#after #assassination #being #biggest #bin

Obama might do well to remember that his fast rise from the Illinois state Senate was due in large part to an uncanny ability to make friends and find mentors. ↗

— Ron Fournier

#due #fast #find #friends #his

Obama still has work to do with the vision thing. Convincing voters that he has a credible, practical plan to turn the nation around is a process, not a speech. ↗

— Ron Fournier

#convincing #credible #nation #obama #plan

Once a popular Alaska governor with a modest record of accomplishment, Palin could conceivably revive her reputation in this era of short memories. But it's hard to imagine her name atop the GOP ballot in 2016, when a cast of heavyweights who sat out 2012 will be vying for the nomination. ↗

— Ron Fournier

#alaska #ballot #cast #conceivably #could

The failure of the White House and Congress to seriously address the nation's fiscal situation is certain to broaden the belief among many voters that the U.S. political system is broken. ↗

— Ron Fournier

#among #belief #broaden #broken #certain