Mark Shields quotes

There is always strength in numbers. The more individuals or organizations that you can rally to your cause, the better.
-- Mark Shields

#Numbers #Organization #Causes

In the past, in order to continue as a candidate, a serious candidate, you had to be in the top three finishes in Iowa. You had to be in the top two out of New Hampshire. All our presidents elected in the past half-century finished either first or second in New Hampshire and in the top three in Iowa. That changed with the Citizens United, when we gave unlimited amounts of money.
-- Mark Shields

#Past #Order #Iowa

[In politics] when A goes after B and there's a C, and D and a Q all lined up there, you have no idea who's going to be the beneficiary.
-- Mark Shields

#Ideas #Beneficiaries

There's no question that there's been a breach in the trust between urban - especially urban community, African-American and minority communities and the police in major American cities.
-- Mark Shields

#Cities #Community #African American

My church [Catholisism] is hurting from arrogance and from its indifference to the suffering of children that were abused and the inclination of the leadership to protect the institution, rather than the children.
-- Mark Shields

#Hurt #Children #Arrogance

Politics is a contact sport - a question of accepting an elbow or two.
-- Mark Shields

#Sports #Two #Elbows

I think Guantanamo, has been synonymous with the staining of American values and American legal tradition.
-- Mark Shields

#Thinking #Tradition #American Values

Every measurement of where you have more public confidence in creating jobs, American prosperity, controlling crime, health care, providing education, all of these standards, Bill Clinton has considerably high marks. The sole exception is on protecting taxes, which is initially his attack.
-- Mark Shields

#Jobs #Creating #Care

At a time when the public is sour on politicians, have no use for them, Bill Clinton has risen to a different level. Bill Clinton is endlessly interesting.
-- Mark Shields

#Interesting #Use #Levels

Clinton's major problem, and the two aren't separable really because there is hope in the country, the hope - - optimism has slipped dramatically, make no mistake about every measurement shows that. But the hope is still there. Hope is with him. People want change. They see him as the best chance for change.
-- Mark Shields

#Country #Mistake #Two

You really have one bite at the apple.
-- Mark Shields

#Apples

He who speaks the truth must keep one foot in the stirrup.
-- Mark Shields

#Feet #Speak #Stirrups

The people who are rising, they're super ambitious. They have relationships with people above them. They have relationships, hierarchical, sort of people below them. A lot of people do not have relationships horizontally. And there's a lot of people who reach high political offices, but who are weirdly lonely, weirdly lacking in intimacy skills.
-- Mark Shields

#Lonely #Skills #Office

I have my disagreements with President Obama, but President Obama has run an amazingly scandal-free administration, not only he himself, but the people around him. He's chosen people who have been pretty scandal-free.
-- Mark Shields

#Running #People #President

I am struck the whole litany of people, especially of that era, who were involved in some scandal or another. Some of it was sexual. Some of it was more financial. And it was just all concentrated in a lot of people all at once.
-- Mark Shields

#People #Scandal #Eras

Washington is a city of money. It's a flood of money.
-- Mark Shields

#Cities #Flood

The economy of the United States gross domestic product doubled from 1996 to 2015, doubled, more than, $8.8 trillion to $17.1 trillion. And the median household income went down.
-- Mark Shields

#Income #United States #Economy

The failure to invest in our public transportation and public life, I think, is a scandal and a shame, and it should be a national embarrassment.
-- Mark Shields

#Thinking #Scandal #Shame

Barack Obama knows that America cannot be strong abroad unless we are strong at home. People the world over have always been more impressed by the power of our example than the example of our power.
-- Mark Shields

#Strong #Home #America

Let's not pretend that all of a sudden, this is some new system.
-- Mark Shields

The advantage that hospitals have over other institutions is that hospitals are community-based. You can't outsource your work; you can't move your emergency department to Pakistan.
-- Mark Shields

#Moving #Community #Emergencies

If an abduction is reported, it is dealt with in the same way as a kidnap.
-- Mark Shields

#Way #Abduction

You can't have someone with a pinkie out there at the U.N. or any other place.
-- Mark Shields

Character is destiny and character is important to American campaigns.
-- Mark Shields

#Character #Destiny #Important

You've got people who didn't serve with John Kerry saying they did serve with John Kerry in the boat. With George Bush, we can't find anybody who did serve with him.
-- Mark Shields

#People #Boat #John Kerry

The problem with smear campaigns is that too often they work.
-- Mark Shields

#Campaigns #Problem

Since the election, since the formation of a government, the death in Iraq has increased. The United States stands by, helpless to do anything about it. That's the reality, not George Bush's revisionist history!
-- Mark Shields

#Reality #Iraq #Government

As Bill Clinton said so eloquently at the convention, during Vietnam there was a chance to serve; there was a chance not to serve.
-- Mark Shields

#Vietnam #Bills #Chance

Everybody who served in John Kerry's boat under his command, save one, has stood with him.
-- Mark Shields

#Boat #John Kerry #Command

John McCain was victimized in the South Carolina primary.
-- Mark Shields

#South Carolina #Carolina #Mccain

When the size of the group supporting your cause reaches a critical mass, any legislator or elected official has to pay attention.
-- Mark Shields

#Sea #Attention #Pay

When you run for president of the United States, everybody does the same thing in the campaign-they talk about veterans, how much they admire them, how grateful they are.
-- Mark Shields

#Running #Grateful #President

John McCain has become the de facto running mate of George W. Bush.
-- Mark Shields

#Running #Mates #Mccain

Iraq is in a civil war. There is no road in that country that is safe.
-- Mark Shields

#Country #War #Iraq

John Kerry's biography was central to his campaign.
-- Mark Shields

#Campaigns #Biographies #John Kerry

In the 2004 presidential election, we saw a wonderful example of citizens making contributions. In fact, individual giving to both the Kerry and Bush campaigns was the highest in our nation's history.
-- Mark Shields

#Giving #Presidential #Campaigns

I think any advocate who is effective has fully acquainted himself or herself with the legislator they are going to meet. Know what committees they are on, what issues they are interested in, all in an effort to build a bridge for communicating with them.
-- Mark Shields

#Thinking #Bridges #Issues

George Bush says what John Kerry did was noble. Yet he sees him being savaged by his own supporters.
-- Mark Shields

#Noble #John Kerry #Supporter

If I were John Bolton, I'd take great consolation in the words of my principal supporter on the committee, who gave a ringing endorsement, which was, There is no evidence that he has broken any laws.
-- Mark Shields

#Law #Broken #Endorsements