“It will be an unusual dynamic [in Congress]. It won't be like the rallying behind President [Barack] Obama in 2009 or behind President [George W.] Bush, even at the beginning of his presidency, or even [Bill] Clinton in '93, when he got his budget through on a partisan vote.” PresidentBehindsVoteBillsClintonCongressBarackBudgetsUnusualPresidencyPartisansPresident Barack ObamaPresident George W BushRallying Author:William Kristol
“Look, at actual Republican and conservative think-tank proposals to replace ObamaCare all have the pre-existing condition provision in, done somewhat differently from [Barack] President Obama's.” ThinkingLooksDonePresidentConditionsRepublicanConservativeBarackPresident ObamaProposalTanksProvisionObamacare Author:William Kristol
“If President [Barack] Obama - President [Donald] Trump shows up with a, you know, cleaver and just says, I can get rid of all these regulations, I can get rid of ObamaCare, no problem at all, then that would be a mistake.” IfsKnowsI CanShowsProblemWould BePresidentMistakeTrumpBarackRegulationNo ProblemObamacarePresident Barack ObamaCleaver Author:William Kristol
“In any case, open-seat presidential elections like 2008 just are different in character from incumbent reelects, and I think that's the most important thing about this election - is that once there's an incumbent running for reelection, most of the debate is about, "Has he [Barack Obama] done a good job?" Most of the judgment is, "Do you want to keep him or do you want to replace him?" Now, the opponent has to also be acceptable and has to make his own case.” ThinkingWantImportantDifferentDoneCharacterRunningJobsCasesJudgmentElectionImportant ThingsDebateBarackPresidentialOpponentsSeatsAcceptableGood JobPresidential ElectionIncumbentsReelection Author:William Kristol
“I don't think [Mitt] Romney can sit there and wait to win because perhaps people are disappointed with President [Barack] Obama.” PeopleThinkingWinningWaitingPresidentBarackDisappointedRomneyPresident Barack Obama Author:William Kristol
“I think the whole dynamic is different. Whereas in [Barack] Obama's case, even though there was no incumbent, he was able to run against eight years of Bush-Cheney and a Republican Congress, and everyone was tired of everything. He was able to benefit from that.” ThinkingYearsDifferentWholeRunningAbleCasesRepublicanBenefitsTiredCongressEightBarackIncumbents Author:William Kristol
“If you look at the polls - the conservatives are fine.I think there will be a fair amount of enthusiasm, or at least motivation. They very much want to remove President [Barack] Obama.” IfsThinkingWantLooksMotivationPresidentFineAmountFairsEnthusiasmBarackRemovePollsPresident Barack Obama Author:William Kristol
“Barack Obama is not going to beat Hillary Clinton in a single Democratic primary. I’ll predict that right now.” Right NowBeatsDemocraticClintonBarackPrimaries Author:William Kristol
