David Brooks
David Brooks
Conservative political columnist for the New York Times. He also wrote for the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Times and provided political commentary for National Public Radio (NPR) and the PBS NewsHour.
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionJournalist
Date of Birth11 August 1961
CityToronto, Canada
CountryUnited States of America
people trying democratic
We are a democratic, egalitarian people who spend our days desperately trying to climb over each other.
thinking clinton
I really think of [Donald] Trump erratic. I think that was the big message that came out. The positive agenda for Hillary [Clinton] was a little less vibrant.
people doubt favors
The more people doubt their own beliefs the more, paradoxically, they are inclined to proselytize in favor of them.
slavery structure
Freedom without structure is its own slavery.
rivers trash-talk aspersion
... trash talk ... Washington floats on a river of aspersion.
dream america personality
America is not just a democracy, it represents a certain culture of competitive mobility and personality aspirations, politics is not merely a clash of interests, but a clash of dreams.
party past years
The public is not only shifting from left to right. Every single idea associated with the educated class has grown more unpopular over the past year. . . . A year ago, the Obama supporters were the passionate ones. Now the tea party brigades have all the intensity.
white house democracy
The core threat to democracy is not in the White House, it's the [Bush] haters themselves.
thinking self people
I've come to think that flourishing consists of putting yourself in situations in which you lose self-consciousness and become fused with other people, experiences, or tasks.
wise writing choices
A wise soul once declared that the ultimate power of the writer is that he has the choice of whom he wants to be co-opted by.
house affair
Decision-making power, whether it's on foreign affairs or domestic affairs, is concentrated in the White House in a reasonably small circle.
reality people want
People want a reality that tells them they're right all of the time.
summer school home
We pretend to be a middle class, democratic nation, but in reality we love our blue bloods. ... We love the prep school manners, the aristocratic calm, the Skull and Bones mystery, the dappled lawns stretching before New England summer homes. How else can you explain the Bush vs. Kerry match-up that confronts us this year
character people important
Highly educated young people are tutored, taught and monitored in all aspects of their lives, except the most important, which is character building. When it comes to this, most universities leave them alone.