The Public Record
Paul Begala is a prominent American political consultant, strategist, and television personality, best known for his role as a senior advisor to President Bill Clinton from 1993 to 1997. A member of the Democratic Party, he has been influential in shaping political discourse and strategy in the United States. Begala has also made a name for himself as a commentator on various news networks, where he provides insights on political issues and campaigns.
I think -- first, let me just say, John Boehner's a patriotic American, he's a good man, he's a good congressman. He leads his party ably. But what he is proposing is to purposefully damage our country, to take the full faith and credit of…
And for Speaker Boehner to say we're going to risk the full faith and credit of the United States, it's just something you should never mess around with.
I think that Speaker Boehner is a good person, but I think what he is doing here is really dangerous.
The debt ceiling has been raised for 95 years. We used to not have a debt ceiling, and there's no real need to have it.
What he is proposing is to purposefully damage our country, to take the full faith and credit of our nation to the brink.
He wants to change our most precious founding document to write discrimination into it.
He wants to reinstate don't ask/don't tell, which was a discriminatory policy.
Governor Romney wants to kick people out of the military because they're gay.
Younger people very much strongly support this. So it's a forward-looking thing.
The worst thing a president can do is vacillate and he has been vacillating on this for quite some time. Now he's taken a strong position.
I think the worst thing a president can do is vacillate and he has been vacillating on this for quite some time. Now he's taken a strong position.
This is a very polarizing issue. And I think he has actually stitched those two roles together very powerfully.
The president wasn't reading talking points, he wasn't reading a teleprompter, he wasn't repeating cliches.
What the president is trying to do is say I want to rebalance, not invade, conquer and occupy huge countries, but project our power in a more nimble way.
Both parties, Ari is exactly right, are war weary. This country is war weary. If you look at the CNN poll or any of our polls, voters don't even just want to get out in 2014 like the president does, they want to get out tomorrow.
What the president is trying to do is say, 'I want to rebalance. Not invade, conquer and occupy huge countries but project our power in a more nimble way and then rebuild America back home.'
Both parties, Ari is right, are war weary. This country is war weary.
When Barack Obama took office, there were 32,000 American troops fighting in Afghanistan. Now there are almost 90,000.
This is a legitimate triumph that the president led and he has a right to claim credit for it.
I do think President Obama's boots on the ground has certainly helped.
By the way, President Obama has put more boots on the ground on the Mexican border than any president since Woodrow Wilson was chasing Pancho Villa.
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