Gwen Ifill
Truth is, in fact, an elusive concept. It depends almost entirely on where you are standing at the time. It is a human instinct to confuse belief with truth.Collection: Truth
I am in the bad news business. Seldom do I get to report on puppies, rainbows, or the sounds of children giggling. Well, never.Collection: Business
Hope springs eternal, even in politics.Collection: Hope
Don't count out other amazing programming like Frontline. You will still find more hours of in-depth news programming, investigative journalism and analysis on PBS than on any other outlet.Collection: Amazing
Authentic apology is a tricky thing to pull off in politics, which is why it so seldom occurs. Plausible deniability must be preserved. True contrition has to be displayed. Traitors to the cause must be immediately be jettisoned. Most of all, the goal is to stop the bleeding.Collection: Politics
If it were the Clinton people, they'd be sitting around figuring out how to pull themselves out. Instead the president is continuing to go around the country and peddling Social Security, which the needle is not moving on.Collection: Moving
We can't expect the world to get better by itself. We have to create something we can leave the next generation.
I wanted to be a journalist because I like to ask questions. And I like the idea that someone might feel responsible for answering them.
I believe if we only are talking to people who agree with us, we are failing in some way to understand our world and our country.
I learned how to cover race riots by telephone. They didn't pay me enough at my first newspaper job to venture onto the grounds of South Boston High School when bricks were being thrown. Instead, I would telephone the headmaster and ask him to relay to me the number of broken chairs in the cafeteria each day.
We will wait to see if it is a doozy before we decide how to cover it, and what it all means.
To me, race is not all about grievance. It is also about pride and empathy and humanity and understanding the value of difference. But along with that, there are also expectations that we should set for ourselves and for others. We should expect to be treated as equal citizens.
Hyperbole is not easily dealt with. Usually, it collapses under its own weight.
My job as a reporter is not to know what I think.
Journalists like to give themselves credit for being on the hunt for 'the truth.' But if we embrace this undoubtedly noble but somewhat haughty interpretation of a calling, we inevitably become susceptible to slam dunk answers.
I'm a preacher's kid, and we were always told, Act right all the time, because someone's always watching.
On immigration, there are a lot of hurdles before anything arrives at the White House.
Diversity is essential to the success of the news industry, and journalists must include diverse voices in their coverage in order to reach a broader audience. We have stories to tell, but many in our audience have stopped listening because they can tell that we're not talking about them.
If Donald Trump has proved anything, it is that there is nothing more powerful than a candidate's voice.
One of the things that Africa needs, everybody seems to agree, is some measure of debt relief.
The common agenda both sides seem to share is: Whatever works.
History shows that people often do cast their votes for amorphous reasons-the most powerful among them being the need for change. Just ask Bill Clinton.
You would like me to say that the veil will be ripped from the voters' eyes sometime between now and November, thereby restoring the proper version of Democracy to the House and Senate. I won't say that, of course. The simple reason is, I don't know.
The President has launched a very agressive campaign of self-defense, with the goal of getting Americans to buy into his vision of America on the world stage.
Can't disagree with the need for a grasp of history.
Whatever their motivations, lawmakers on both side of the aisle have certainly discovered that immigration is one of those issues that resonate strongly with the public.
People do still cheer for the President. And some of the military audiences are more likely to cheer than others. I have seen him speak lately in front of groups like Freedom House, where the applause was a long time coming.
When the President was asked about global warming at a public appearance yesterday, he responded by talking about America's addiction to oil. You make the connection.
Is it unreasonable to have proof of citizenship when entering another country?
There seems to be more abiding interest in unearthing old memos abroad than there is here.
Journalists are accused of being lapdogs when they don't ask the hard questions, but then accused of being rude when they do. Good thing we have tough hides.
Did I say that the President's entire job is image management? Of course not.
We're not paying attention to the fact that Hillary Clinton is running in 2006. Everyone is looking to her for the future. It's the same with anybody else who's positioning themselves.
If you start to catalog Hillary Clinton's positions between now and 2008, we're going to have a lot of conversations because there are a lot of places for her to go.
A lot of Democrats are not that upset with Howard Dean. Howard Dean gets out here and he says these inflammatory things, and he doesn't apologize. He doesn't back down a little bit.
Folks who are getting their strokes in the South are not as unhappy with Howard Dean. You don't see anybody starting any movement to get him out of office.
Tony Blair - good thing there are not parliamentary elections in this country.
It's been years, decades, since a president has lost a major trade initiative. That would be bad headlines.
Simply as an exercise in efficient politics, Obama '08 rewrote the textbook. His accomplishment was historic and one that transformed how race and politics intersect in our society. Obama is the leading edge of this change, but his success is merely the ripple in a pond that grows deeper every day.
When population shifts - brought about by fair housing laws, affirmative action and landmark school desegregation rulings - political power is challenged as well.
Barack Obama's historic 2008 presidential campaign touched on all the themes I have covered throughout my career and all of the layers of meaning that run through black politics. Ambition. Aspiration. Fear. Folly. It was all on display as Obama boarded the roller coaster that ultimately led to the White House.
I was very conscious of the world being this very crazed place that demanded explanation. I didn't see a whole lot of people who looked like me doing it on television.
I got my first job by exceeding expectations.
I loved covering presidential politics - not so much because of the candidates but because of the people it allowed me to talk to.
I make more money in a week than my father made in a year.
I was taught that the search for truth and the search for justice are not incompatible and are, in fact, essential.
By nature, I am someone who hews to the middle. I need to hear all sides of a story. Unless I am engaged in a tough round of dominoes or Scrabble, I think of myself as unreasonably reasonable.
Once they have actually left office, we seem to grow fonder of our ex-presidents - and they of each other. That's why so many sighed in approval at Michelle Obama's public display of affection with George W. Bush at last month's dedication of the National Museum of African-American History and Culture.
Because I have moderated two general election debates - in 2004 and 2008 - I know better than to carp from the sidelines. I am confident in my accomplishment of having had Queen Latifah portray me on 'Saturday Night Live' both years.
Moderating a debate means spending more time with briefing books than with your children. It means writing and rewriting and rephrasing. It means finding a way to be alert enough to notice when your question goes unanswered and nimble enough to decide what you will do about that on the spot.