There's a higher principle about the role of the federal government that runs into conflict with the raw emotions that play out after a tragedy and it squeezes Republicans, they're squeezed because the higher principle is Republican federal candidates place a lot of value in the right of states to decide these matters without federal interference -- whether it's an emotional issue like the flag, or whether it's gun rights, gay marriage.

Ari Fleischer

Categorized in : Politics

I think you have always heard, and you continue to hear from officials, a measure of high confidence that, indeed, the weapons of mass destruction will be found.

Ari Fleischer

mass-destruction iraq thinking

The president of the United States and the secretary of defense would not assert as plainly and bluntly as they have that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction if it was not true, and if they did not have a solid basis for saying it.

Ari Fleischer

mass-destruction iraq president

We know for a fact that there are weapons there.

Ari Fleischer

mass-destruction wmd iraq

The press is hostile to Donald Trump, they always will be. And Donald Trump is happy to return the favor. And you know what, he actually has the upper hand in that relationship.

Ari Fleischer

upper-hand favors hands

It's so much easier to do press if you take positions that the press likes than to take conservative Republican positions.

Ari Fleischer

conservative republican likes

There is already a mountain of evidence that Saddam Hussein is gathering weapons for the purpose of using them. And adding additional information is like adding a foot to Mount Everest

Ari Fleischer

mountain gathering feet

The greatest threat to the security of the people of North Korea comes from the government of North Korea.

Ari Fleischer

korea government people

This is a massive crisis for the press, and the degree now that the press revs up its scrutiny and its opposition to Donald Trump, as opposed to being neutral and fair to Donald Trump - they will compound their own problem, because Republicans don't trust them, independents largely don't trust them, and the press risks just being credible to only one party in America.

Ari Fleischer

risk party america

The press lost credibility with Republicans and independents during the Obama years, setting itself up for the damage that's going to be done during the Trump years.

Ari Fleischer

damage done years

Given the chance to throw off a brutal dictator like Saddam Hussein, people will rejoice.

Ari Fleischer

hussein chance people

Why then would people look to the United Nations as an instrument of peace, if instead all it is, is an instrument of putting out declarations that nobody intends to take seriously anyway?

Ari Fleischer

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I think the burden is on those people who think he didn't have weapons of mass destruction to tell the world where they are.

Ari Fleischer

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I think it's important for the people to see the government is functioning.

Ari Fleischer

government people thinking

If he declares he has none, then we will know that Saddam Hussein is once again misleading the world.

Ari Fleischer

mass-destruction wmd iraq

There are certain times you rattle the press's cages, and other times you don't, and you have to be discerning about it.

Ari Fleischer

discerning cages certain

If you are ever uncomfortable or are unsure of something, you attribute it.

Ari Fleischer

uncomfortable attributes ifs

There is something democratic about grass-roots, widespread money support. There is something anti-democratic about one person propping up a candidate who can't make it.

Ari Fleischer

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A safety net for the poor indeed requires some level of income redistribution.

Ari Fleischer

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The reason the world is in the spot it's in is because North Korea entered into an agreement and then did not keep up their terms of the agreement. They received aid in return for promising not to develop nuclear weapons. They took the aid, they ran with the aid and then they developed a nuclear weapons anyway.

Ari Fleischer

korea nuclear agreement

School choice is one of the strongest ways we have to educate our children, .. believes in school choice and he is going to work hard to enact school choice.

Ari Fleischer

hard-work believe children