Quotes from Steve Kornacki

Through the years, through my own conversations, through my own weird obsessions, I think I have developed some very deep politics of political knowledge - and I think I have huge blind spots, too - which I have tried to build not necessarily through traditional interviews so much as it is conversations and a lot of research and reading.

My first job in journalism was covering politics in New Jersey.

Mr. Giuliani's liabilities as a G.O.P. candidate were obvious. There was his well-documented history of cultural liberalism - on abortion, gay rights, immigration and gun control - which he tried, unsuccessfully, to mask. And then there was his style - bland, uninspiring, even soporific.

We'll always romanticize the past. We did not have this great, glorious era where everything was bipartisan and everything worked, but there was room for bipartisanship. And there was room for government to be more functional. The country itself was forced by all the upheaval of the '90s to take sides, to chose one or the other.

I just didn't fit the stereotypes of gay men. I was an ESPN addict as far back as elementary school. I'd also had early crushes on girls.

When we talk about the rise of tribalism, I think the evolution of media in the '90s and beyond is a huge part of it. And you can draw a pretty straight line from Newt Gingrich recognizing the power of CSPAN.

It's been a very strange thing to see the attention my clothes have gotten, just because it's so inversely related to the amount of thought I put into them.

Enacted in 1994, the first of the MSRB rules bars employees of firms that underwrite state and municipal bonds from donating to any official seeking federal office who has any role in giving business to bond firms.

Richard Nixon built his presidency on his notorious 'Southern strategy.'

I can multiply. Long divisions start to be a stretch.

My favorite player, all-time, will always be Doug Flutie.

The early favorite for the GOP nomination and 'natural' heir to Reagan was Vice President George H.W. Bush. But Bush was an imperfect fit for the party's base.

The Paul name has been a divisive one at Obama-era CPAC gatherings, with rabid supporters of Ron Paul invading the hall to cheer on their man, jeer his Republican enemies, and in 2010 and 2011 delivering straw poll victories to him.

In a gesture to moderate Republicans, Reagan put Bush on his '80 ticket, and Bush recognized that the Reagan crowd was rapidly becoming an overwhelming majority in the party. So he adjusted his views, served Reagan loyally and spent much of his vice presidency using his stature to convince conservative leaders they could trust him.

Ron Paul's CPAC appearances perfectly captured the nature and limits of his political appeal. His libertarian message, non-interventionist views and devotion to the gold standard attracted a sizable, committed following, but many of the true-believers weren't actually part of the Republican Party.

The lesson I take from TV is the less rehearsed it is, the more natural it's going to seem. Don't overthink it. It seems to work enough for me, and I'll just keep doing it.