Steve Kornacki

“It's been a very strange thing to see the attention my clothes have gotten, just because it's so inversely related to the amount of thought I put into them.”

“I think I'll forget to eat a lot during election week.”

“Enacted in 1994, the first of the MSRB rules bars employees of firms that underwrite state and municipal bonds from donating to any official seeking federal office who has any role in giving business to bond firms.”

“A case can be made that Boehner's skills as a House leader are underappreciated.”

“There was a certain futility to Elizabeth Colbert Busch's congressional campaign, one that had nothing to do with her and everything to do with the state and region she calls home.”

“The 1994 midterms had been a shocking rout for the GOP, which picked up 54 seats in the House and eight in the Senate. No one had seen it coming. The Democratic Congress was supposed to be a permanent fact of life; it had been 40 years since Republicans had controlled the chamber.”

“I try to do the deep breathing exercises and I end up panicking in the middle of them and it never goes well.”

“Evan Bayh learned early that liberalism and ambition don't always mix in a red state like Indiana.”

“They say it doesn't get any more Jersey than 24-hour diners. Of course, they say the same thing about women with big hair, hapless college football teams and governors who tell their wives they're gay on national television.”

“Numerous candidates lose their first White House race and try again four years later - but all of them do so after running surprisingly well the first time. No one ever talked about John Connally or Phil Gramm running again.”

“Chris Matthews is a giant. He's a legend.”

“In 2016 you had a significant number of voters who said on Election Day: I don't like Donald Trump. I don't think he tells the truth. I don't think he has the temperament to be president. I don't think he is qualified. I do think Hillary Clinton is qualified. And I am voting for Donald Trump.”

“When we talk about the rise of tribalism, I think the evolution of media in the '90s and beyond is a huge part of it. And you can draw a pretty straight line from Newt Gingrich recognizing the power of CSPAN.”

“I don't think my political opinions, to the extent I have them, are useful.”

“I went to a public school, so we didn't have to wear a tie.”

“The godfather of the modern Mississippi Republican Party, Charles Pickering, left the Democrats in 1964 because the party's national convention agreed to seat two black delegates.”

“By 1996, Clinton was able to run for re-election on the strength of what the '93 budget had delivered - and to taunt the Republicans (including his opponent, Bob Dole) for having been so afraid of it.”

“Typically, the view of party leaders is that primaries are best avoided. Better to coalesce around a consensus candidate early, help that candidate amass a mighty bankroll, and focus the attention of volunteers, activists and other stakeholders on the general election.”

“I tried the Calm app, but that I don't rec - well, maybe I got a bad story or something - but it didn't work for me.”

“I just didn't fit the stereotypes of gay men. I was an ESPN addict as far back as elementary school. I'd also had early crushes on girls.”