A biography for William M. Daleyhasn’t been written yet.
“Centrist voters typically decide general elections, so hard-left or hard-right platforms don't help.”
“Bernie Sanders is making a big and potentially dangerous mistake with his continuing insistence on changes to the Democratic Party's rules and platform. I should know. As chairman of Al Gore's 2000 presidential campaign, I understand too well where such ideological stubbornness can lead.”
“If anything, the Democrats' salvation may lie in the fact that Republicans seem even more hell-bent on allowing their radical wing to drag the party away from the center.”
“Bob Gates understands the difficulty of going to war. This is a man who spent almost his entire life working for the government.”
“Young people - motivating them in any election is hard to do.”
“As commerce secretary, I led the Clinton administration's effort to ensure China's entry into the World Trade Organization and the permanent normalization of trade between the U.S. and China - steps that produced a 76 percent increase in U.S. exports to China in just three years.”
“Our focus must be on making America the best place on earth to do business.”
“Contrary to what most people think, there is a Rich Daley under Mayor Daley.”
“No one knows the Senate better than Joe Biden; he lived there for 35 years.”
“The reason CAFTA should be enacted is not economic benefits: it is national security.”
“There is no question of the benefits that opening a market of a billion people will bring to American businesses. But as I said last year, this will test China and the world trade system.”
“A chief of staff has to reflect the president's governing style.”
“Business leaders should show what our political leaders seem to lack - that is, a common-sense view of the times.”
“What comes into the Oval Office are not the good or easy decisions. The easy decisions are made elsewhere. The things that make it to the Oval are always the hard ones.”
“I know something about trade agreements. I was proud to help President Clinton pass the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1993 and create what is still the world's largest free-trade area, linking 426 million people and more than $12 trillion of goods and services.”
“If we don't set the rules for commerce in the Asia-Pacific region, China will.”
“It's logical and fair to allow only registered or self-identified Democrats to choose their party's nominee (although numerous states do have open primaries). Letting more non-Democrats choose the nominee doesn't guarantee success in a November general election. And it does nothing to encourage people to join and work for the party.”
“Sanders insists the party adopt 'the most progressive platform ever passed' at its Philadelphia convention. Since when does the runner-up get to dictate the platform?”
“Trump is a different politician. He was a different businessman. His campaign was different. What you saw in his campaign is what you're going to see in his presidency.”
“The Republican establishment's 2008 embrace of Palin set an irresponsibly low bar. Coincidence or not, a batch of nonsense-spewing, hard-right candidates quickly followed, often to disastrous effect.”