“I was "Never Trump." But it turned out never republican was really the theme of this election.” TrumpRepublicanElectionTheme 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
“Some journalists just get too wrapped up in daily news cycles and tempests in a teapot that are not going to make any difference. As someone who is older and has been through a few election cycles, maybe this is just being an old fogey, but I think I know what's going to really matter and what's not.” ThinkingKnowsHas BeensMatterDifferencesNewsElectionJournalistCyclesJust BeingTempestTeapotsDaily News Author:William Kristol
“Since Ronald Reagan's election in 1980, conservatives of various sorts, and conservatisms of various stripes, have generally been in the ascendancy. And a good thing, too! Conservatives have been right more often than not - and more often than liberals - about most of the important issues of the day.” Has BeensImportantIssuesElectionGood ThingsVariousConservatismStripesImportant IssuesAscendancy Author:William Kristol
“The average GOP presidential vote in these last five elections was 44.5 percent. In the last three, it was 48.1 percent. Give Romney an extra point for voter disillusionment with Obama, and a half-point for being better financed than his predecessors. It still strikes me as a path to narrow defeat.” GivingStillsLastsThreeHalfPathFivePercentVoteElectionDefeatAverageStrikesPresidentialExtrasVotersRomneyDisillusionmentPredecessorsGopThree Strikes Author:William Kristol
