The last six weeks have gone to Bush. He’s been able to move himself to the middle –and get himself back on the track he wanted.

I don’t think of him as a member of the social right. He’s … a more secular, business-oriented Chamber of Commerce kind of Republican.

[In short, it’s the good economy, stupid.] There is widespread perception that other forces have contributed to the economic recovery, whether it’s the New Economy or [Federal Reserve Chairman Alan] Greenspan, … The challenge for...

I don’t think he has any other choice, … He can’t afford to divide Republican support and count on independents and Democrats to bail him out. That’s just not going to happen.

In public esteem, the judges are the most highly rated of the three branches of government.

To some degree, … this election is a referendum on what people think about Arnold’s concept of reform.

It all portends a very rocky start to 2006 for the administration because the concerns are increasingly bipartisan.

Their numbers are an estimate, all our numbers are an estimate, but they’re perfectly sensible,

Arnold, or someone, has to sit through all this advice and sort out a coherent plan. One thing we haven’t seen in the Schwarzenegger administration is coherence.

In the Democratic Party, except for certain elements, there’s lukewarm support for immigration reform and a lot of potential strife. I don’t think anyone wants to touch that one.

This puts Schwarzenegger on the hot seat. I think it’s a slam-dunk that he’s going to have to veto the bill and hope that the anger in the gay community doesn’t spill over into other...

Term limits make it harder to do structural initiatives that require a number of years to implement.

It doesn’t hurt for him to have a fight with Bush at this point, which would then differentiate him from Bush when this election hinges on how many Democrats and independents he can get in...

First is the price tag – it’s huge, and the financing details are fairly complex. People are going to want to know how realistic is it that you are going to get this money.

It’s pretty clear that terrorism-war themes no longer work in keeping people in line.

I’ve always perceived his relationship with Jerry to be more a marriage of convenience. Jerry’s New Age, and Ignacio comes from a background of working-class politics. Historically, you just see them as completely different individuals.

There’s no question that Democratic activists in California want a firm opposition to George Bush from their representatives. Now that doesn’t mean they want impeachment. … They definitely want the representatives to have some spine.

You’re there to do a job and to represent your constituents. If you’re not making decisions it seems to me you’re not fulfilling your obligation.

In Sacramento, the sense of urgency is what often compels them to do anything and the sense of urgency is now gone.

I don’t give Cindy Sheehan any chance of defeating Dianne Feinstein in the primary. … There is nobody who comes close second [to Feinstein].

I think they may be playing it for all it’s worth. If he’s trying to get back on a bipartisan track, what better way than to pick a fight with the president?

Basically. The rich and famous only need apply.

This was supposed to become a consumer-oriented office. For him to take money from the insurance industry is risky because people expect that position not to be in their pocket.

This is her dilemma. A lot of the pressures of her constituency point to her taking a very aggressive position on withdrawing from Iraq. But her role as minority leader demands that she pick a...

Some money is dangerous to take.

But on the margins it does recreate the dynamic that made Schwarzenegger’s election in the recall possible in the first place.

It seemed to me the honeymoon with Brown wore off after the first term, and in the African American community, they weren’t happy with Brown at all. He went sour with key elements of the...

There’s no question that the election is an impediment to negotiation.

[Amy Walter, who tracks House elections for Cook, said,] Republicans have done a good job building these levees, but we haven’t seen them tested in a Category 5 storm. … The annals of redistricting are...