Political Quotes

David Gergen

The Public Record

David Gergen was an American political commentator and advisor who served in the administrations of four U.S. presidents, providing insights and guidance on various political matters. Born on May 9, 1942, in Massachusetts, Gergen held significant roles in both Republican and Democratic administrations, showcasing his ability to navigate the political landscape across party lines. He was also a professor of public service at Harvard University, where he influenced a new generation of leaders. In addition to his academic work, Gergen was a senior political analyst for CNN, contributing to public discourse on current events until his passing on July 10, 2025.

Quotes by year · 200420233,072 total · peak 2008 (674)
2004: 17 quotes2005: 10 quotes2006: 236 quotes2007: 167 quotes2008: 674 quotes2009: 600 quotes2010: 220 quotes2011: 170 quotes2012: 171 quotes2013: 61 quotes2014: 43 quotes2015: 55 quotes2016: 89 quotes2017: 193 quotes2018: 165 quotes2019: 116 quotes2020: 59 quotes2021: 12 quotes2022: 9 quotes2023: 5 quotes
Dec 21, 2010

I do think it's going to -- an embarrassment. He doesn't want another one like this, because I think that really will be damaging.

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Dec 12, 2010

He was very tough. President Obama said today at the State Department he was one tough son of a gun. And that's exactly right.

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Dec 9, 2010

It should have been accompanied by a commitment on -- a hard commitment on spending cuts down the road.

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Dec 9, 2010

I think President Obama has a self-confidence and inner security, that this wouldn't faze him at all. And I think he thinks that, you know, well, what's the big deal?

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Dec 9, 2010

I think he actually made what I think is a problem for Obama is that Bill Clinton makes a better argument for the compromise than President Obama did the other day.

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Dec 7, 2010

It's going to be the middle class. A lot of the mortgage deductions are going to get trimmed back. A lot of other things are going to get trimmed back.

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Dec 7, 2010

When we get serious about deficit reduction, you know who's really going to get hit hard? It's going to be the middle class.

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Dec 7, 2010

I think the Republicans are -- I understand that they made terrible mistakes in the Bush years letting the deficit, letting spending get as much out of control as they did.

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Dec 7, 2010

The sooner the president and the Congress level with the American people, the better.

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Dec 7, 2010

If this Congress is going to be serious, the next Congress is going to be serious, we're going to have to turn this whole thing -- we're going to have to do a U-turn in what we're -- the kind of policies we have been seeing coming out of…

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Nov 17, 2010

The press actually did uncover some of this. Now, let's be clear about this. We didn't know about this housing business and 17 years of unpaid taxes, had the press not gotten into it.

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Politicians like David Gergen