Lee Atwater

“You start out in 1954 by saying, 'N----r, n----r, n----r'. By 1968 you can't say 'n----r'—that hurts you. Backfires. So you say stuff like forced busing, states' rights and all that stuff. You're getting so abstract now [that] you're talking about cutting taxes, and all these things you're talking about are totally economic things and a byproduct of them is [that] blacks get hurt worse than whites.”

“Perception is reality.”

“My opponents are going to have to put on their steel-toed boots because I'm going to be kicking them in the ass.”

“It took a deadly illness to put me eye to eye with that truth, but it is a truth that the country, caught up in its ruthless ambitions and moral decay, can learn on my dime.”

“I acquired more wealth, power, and prestige than most. But you can acquire all you want and still feel empty.”