Author Profile
Eric Alterman
1960 • American • Writer
51
Total Quotes
Collected Meditations
Showing 51 quotesMost of the provisions designed to fix what ails our health system don't kick in until 2014, which, one wishes administration officials had noticed, is two years after he has to win an election.— Eric Alterman
Obama, like Carter, is reacting to warning signs by seeking to split the difference between dispirited Democrats and increasingly radicalized Republicans.— Eric Alterman
Stylistically speaking, Barack Obama could hardly be further from Jimmy Carter if he really had been born in Kenya.— Eric Alterman
Few progressives would take issue with the argument that, significant accomplishments notwithstanding, the Obama presidency has been a big disappointment.— Eric Alterman
But particularly when the media profess to strive toward objectivity, gatekeepers play a crucial role in helping people navigate the news to make educated political decisions.— Eric Alterman
The consequences of President Johnson's campaign of deliberate deception regarding Vietnam could hardly have been more catastrophic for the nation, the military, the president, his party, and the presidency itself.— Eric Alterman
For the past eight years, the right has been better at working the refs. Now the left is learning how to play the game.— Eric Alterman
The myth of the liberal media empowers conservatives to control debate in the United States to the point where liberals cannot even hope for a fair shake anymore.— Eric Alterman
This trend of reporting process over substance is unfortunate, if omnipresent. Even worse is the media's inability - or unwillingness - to fact-check Republicans who are angry about the Democrats trying to debate and vote on Iraq policy.— Eric Alterman
Whether people care enough about local news to pay for it is, sadly, an entirely different question than whether our democracy requires a strong watchdog function at the local level to ensure safeguards against abuse, chicanery, and outright dishonesty.— Eric Alterman
Local politics, like everything else, are not what they used to be. But the fact is that our political system - like our physical existence - still breaks down along geographical lines.— Eric Alterman
As with almost every significant aspect of the Bush presidency, its handling of 9/11 was a catastrophe from start to finish.— Eric Alterman
Americans have always evinced some distrust of government, but the current situation has exacerbated this to a degree that may be unprecedented.— Eric Alterman
President Obama has lowered taxes more than he has raised them, and they are today lower than they were in President Reagan's time. But you don't hear conservatives crowing about that.— Eric Alterman
Mistakes, after all, are endemic to foreign and military policy given the unpredictability of events and the difficulty of securing reliable information in a place like Iraq.— Eric Alterman