Political Quotes

Bill Bennett: That is the core of this election. Do we face the future with fear and pessimism and a conviction that we cannot do it…

On the recordApril 6, 2004
That is the core of this election. Do we face the future with fear and pessimism and a conviction that we cannot do it or do we face the future with a clear, realistic understanding of how difficult it will be, but with a confidence and an optimism that we can do it, that we can succeed in implanting a democracy in Iraq, in bringing freedom into that part of the world in a way that it has never known before? We see signs that we are succeeding already. We see India and Pakistan, two nuclear powers that have been on the verge of war, now looking out over the world of George W. Bush and American resolve and saying maybe we should talk and try to resolve our differences short of war. We see Qadhafi in Libya saying: Maybe it is not a good idea to have weapons of mass destruction and I will voluntarily surrender them and dismantle them in this new situation that George W. Bush has created. I believe the American people will respond more actively to hope and optimism than they will to fear and pessimism.
Said by
Bill Bennett

Editor's note · Context

Discussing the themes of hope and optimism in the context of the 2004 election.

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