Ron Fournier

“We're living in an era of unprecedented change, and I want to be a part of documenting it.”

“Anything can go wrong in a debate, and Obama is not a perfect debater.”

“The 2016 presidential election is ripe for the emergence of a game-changing political leader who either dramatically reforms one of the existing parties or mounts an independent bid.”

“Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is the most influential woman in Washington - for what she has accomplished and for what she may yet do: win the presidency.”

“Blending hard-bitten realism with long-view optimism, Obama said that every 20 or 30 years brings a new cycle of pessimism in America.”

“Since declaring that she would not serve in a second Obama administration, Clinton has dismissed suggestions that she will run in 2016.”

“With gridlock the norm, Congress's approval rating is below 10 percent and the public has lost faith in its national leadership.”

“Like a cowboy saddling a bucking stallion, Republican leaders tried to tame the Tea Party while riding it to victories.”

“Andrew Jackson was the first president to claim that the desires of the public overrode Congress's constitutional prerogatives. Virtually every president since Jackson has claimed the mantle, even while lacking two ingredients of an electoral mandate: a landslide victory and a specific agenda.”

“Republicans would have preferred the court overturn the health care bill, an act that would have underscored Obama's biggest liability - the perception among voters, including those who like and trust him, that he has been ineffective.”

“Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Roosevelt faced adversities that, in their times, seemed impregnable. Great presidents overcome great odds.”

“Hollywood has a history of raising expectations beyond Washington's reach, of appealing to the very American desire to mythologize political leaders, particularly the president.”

“Obama considers himself above deal-making and back-slapping, political necessities he often delegates to Vice President Joe Biden and other lesser sorts.”

“A concrete agenda and landslide victory might not even guarantee a president his mandate in a capital as polarized as Washington.”

“Obama does not need to worry as much as past Democratic presidents about being labeled soft on national security - not after giving the order that led to the assassination of Osama bin Laden. No, his biggest concern is being labeled tone deaf on joblessness and debt.”

“American exceptionalism is the recurring character in the nation's narrative.”

“To be fair, my analysis failed to spell out Obama's first-term accomplishments, although I did acknowledge his 'enormous skills' and tried to focus readers on the distinction between good and great presidencies.”

“Sitting in the Oval Office, beneath a painting of George Washington, with a bust of Martin Luther King Jr. over his right shoulder and a bust of Abraham Lincoln over his left shoulder, Obama told 'National Journal' that the country's economic woes are deep and endemic.”

“Most Tea Party activists consider Obama a big-spending liberal. Some even question his eligibility to be president.”

“A presidential debate is a job interview. And voters look for certain traits in people applying to be president.”