Quotes from Gwen Ifill

I was very conscious of the world being this very crazed place that demanded explanation. I didn't see a whole lot of people who looked like me doing it on television.

It's not surprising that you wouldn't see that side of me on television, but in real life I find the world to be quite a funny place.

Don't count out other amazing programming like Frontline. You will still find more hours of in-depth news programming, investigative journalism and analysis on PBS than on any other outlet.

I got my first job by exceeding expectations.

Authentic apology is a tricky thing to pull off in politics, which is why it so seldom occurs. Plausible deniability must be preserved. True contrition has to be displayed. Traitors to the cause must be immediately be jettisoned. Most of all, the goal is to stop the bleeding.

If someone is complaining about the question or the questioner rather than providing an answer, they're usually trying to change the subject.

Act right all the time, because someone's always watching.

Can't disagree with the need for a grasp of history.

If you take the same child and put them in two different places, it will dramatically shape the way in which their economic outcomes are realized later in life.

One of the best features of my career is that I have gotten to meet and work with some of the most stellar people in the business. From Tim Russert and Jim Lehrer to Bryant Gumbel, Andrea Mitchell and Judy Woodruff, I have learned from the leading lights.

Tony Blair - good thing there are not parliamentary elections in this country.

I've been fortunate enough to write a book and travel the country to sign and sell it, so I can safely say that a five-second burst of conversation while you're scribbling your name, over and over, is not the most reliable way to bond with Americans.

One of the things that Africa needs, everybody seems to agree, is some measure of debt relief.

My job as a reporter is not to know what I think.

Did I say that the President's entire job is image management? Of course not.

It's been years, decades, since a president has lost a major trade initiative. That would be bad headlines.

I'm not in love. I'm not out of love. I'm just trying to find some version of the truth.

Because I have moderated two general election debates - in 2004 and 2008 - I know better than to carp from the sidelines. I am confident in my accomplishment of having had Queen Latifah portray me on 'Saturday Night Live' both years.

By nature, I am someone who hews to the middle. I need to hear all sides of a story. Unless I am engaged in a tough round of dominoes or Scrabble, I think of myself as unreasonably reasonable.

The common agenda both sides seem to share is: Whatever works.

Moderating a debate means spending more time with briefing books than with your children. It means writing and rewriting and rephrasing. It means finding a way to be alert enough to notice when your question goes unanswered and nimble enough to decide what you will do about that on the spot.

I make more money in a week than my father made in a year.

Simply as an exercise in efficient politics, Obama '08 rewrote the textbook. His accomplishment was historic and one that transformed how race and politics intersect in our society. Obama is the leading edge of this change, but his success is merely the ripple in a pond that grows deeper every day.

When the President was asked about global warming at a public appearance yesterday, he responded by talking about America's addiction to oil. You make the connection.