Paul Begala Quotes

Author Image

Paul Begala

Profession : Journalist

Birth : May 12, 1961

I mean, for all of his faults and the troubles in his marriage, Bill Clinton is still married to a girl he met in the library 25 years ago at school. Can we say that about many of our other leaders today in America, including on the right wing?

Paul Begala

Never interrupt your opponent when he's destroying himself.

Paul Begala

One of the problems we saw in the last presidential election in our party is that our nominee, while winning the election, which we ought never to forget, often lost sight of the difference between strategy and tactics.

Paul Begala

Again, President Reagan was sort of an amiable presence out at the ranch by the last 6 months of his presidency. He had no effect on national policy at all.

Paul Begala

I grew up in Tom DeLay's district.

Paul Begala

It seems to me the American people never really forgave the Democrats for being right about Vietnam.

Paul Begala

So one important lesson of Vietnam is, the first casualty of an unwise and unjust war are the American troops called on to fight it. Their service should be honored.

Paul Begala

I'm a Catholic, but I used to love going to Vacation Bible School with my fundamentalist friends.

Paul Begala

If George W. Bush is given a second term, and retains a Republican Congress and a compliant federal judiciary, he and his allies are likely to embark on a campaign of political retribution the likes of which we haven't seen since Richard Nixon.

Paul Begala

Again and again, I've seen Bush turn a blind eye as his henchmen have leveled zealous attacks against his political enemies - assaults which the president himself has sometimes directly encouraged.

Paul Begala

Most politicians, when they meet with a guy like me, or a guy like Carville, tell you about how they can win.

Paul Begala

It taught me that Clinton's instinct to make this about your life as a citizen, rather than his as a human being, was the right answer to these things.

Paul Begala

I was the guy that told Bill Clinton he was going to win. I had gotten the final polling numbers. He had a comfortable lead. He was not going to lose.

Paul Begala

I'm very sunny. You know, I'm always optimistic.

Paul Begala

I don't like being a voyeur, looking into other people's marriages.

Paul Begala

My view was that the campaign had been a sacred thing, that it had been a real compact, because I was there and I saw the connection that Clinton made with people, and the connection that they made with him.

Paul Begala

I used to go in at 5:30 or 6:00 so I could run.

Paul Begala

I try hard to be a good Catholic.

Paul Begala

I didn't spend a lot of time on national security the American people will be glad to know.

Paul Begala

This gets back to the fundamental lesson of political survival that Bill Clinton taught me, which is if you make it about the American people's lives instead of your life, you're going to be okay.

Paul Begala