37 Quotes by Norman Ornstein

There is extreme nervousness about November. The last thing that members want is to be out there in a tough campaign, where the wind is at your face, defending the indefensible.

Having a lot of time left as president is a good thing for him, because it gives him the opportunities and time to get out of some of these holes.

I think it's clear we're in damage control now.

I think Specter is going to be protective of Roberts against what he thinks are intrusive questions. But if he thinks Roberts is not even beginning to address larger questions of philosophy of judging, then I think he'll be unhappy.

President Bush right now is in the midst of a very severe case of second-term blues.

President Bush right now is in a very serious case of second-term blues. It may be the avian flu of second-term blues.

Some members are pulling the blanket over their heads and hoping the storm will pass. For others, there is also a genuine belief that if you just jump in a spasm of reaction, you could do some things detrimental to a good deliberative process.

That would have been a big plus for the president. You get the blame when you're the top dog. And in this case, I think there is no doubt that we had inadequate preparation and we've had inadequate response.

You have smart people and a lot of money at stake. People are going to find loopholes.