Quotes from Ron Fournier

Romney and Democratic rival President Obama have led their partisan backers down a trail of lies, negativity and vacuous policies that seem certain to guarantee an angry electorate four more years of gridlock.

It's a deft trick to turn American exceptionalism into an exceptional political tactic.

A sagging economy, a soaring national debt, and an increasingly restive Congress pushed Obama to order troop reductions that are both deeper and faster than recommended by his military commanders.

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.

'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.

I've been leading newsrooms for a while now and it's been an honor serving as Editor in Chief of N.J., but I really think that my best shot at moving the needle in politics is by getting close to it - by reading, reporting, tweeting and writing.

We're living in an era of unprecedented change, and I want to be a part of documenting it.

Obama will learn from his mistakes.

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.

The fact that Obama is getting criticism from the left and the right might reflect his understanding of the underlying political dynamics.

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

The deck is stacked against Obama.

Historians will likely give Obama credit for steering the country away from the brink of economic collapse in 2009.

The problem, gentlemen, is that Obama is right: The promise of upward mobility is dying in America, and no amount of political demagoguery will fix it.

At his best, Obama promised to work with Republicans to reduce the deficit in a way that honors both individualism and community.

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.

Somebody must be up and somebody must be down. Trouble is, campaigns are messy, subtle creatures that don't follow convenient narratives.

Obama considers himself above deal-making and back-slapping, political necessities he often delegates to Vice President Joe Biden and other lesser sorts.

Like a cowboy saddling a bucking stallion, Republican leaders tried to tame the Tea Party while riding it to victories.

If history is a guide, a victory for Obama means he faces the prospect of a second term dogged by scandal or inertia.

Andrew Jackson was the first president to claim that the desires of the public overrode Congress's constitutional prerogatives. Virtually every president since Jackson has claimed the mantle, even while lacking two ingredients of an electoral mandate: a landslide victory and a specific agenda.

Anything may be possible in America, but a Palin presidency is virtually implausible.

With gridlock the norm, Congress's approval rating is below 10 percent and the public has lost faith in its national leadership.