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Mike Barnicle Quotes

Powerful Mike Barnicle for Daily Growth

About Mike Barnicle

Michael Patrick Barnicle, popularly known as Mike Barnicle, is an American journalist, author, and political commentator born on September 14, 1947, in Boston, Massachusetts. His career spans over four decades, with his work encompassing journalism, publishing, radio, and television. Barnicle's early life was deeply influenced by his family, particularly his father, a hardworking newspaper carrier who instilled in him the importance of reading and writing. Barnicle graduated from Boston College with a degree in English in 1970. His journalistic journey began at The Boston Globe where he worked as a reporter and columnist for nearly two decades. In 1984, Barnicle left The Boston Globe to become the Washington Bureau Chief for The New York Daily News. Two years later, he joined ABC News as its White House correspondent. In 1995, he moved to MSNBC and NBC News, contributing to shows like "Hardball with Chris Matthews" and "Meet the Press." Barnicle's first book, "It All Changes: Love, Death, Politics, and the American Dream," was published in 2006. This memoir details his personal journey through life, love, and loss, intertwined with his observations on American politics. His second book, "This Town: Two Parties and a Funeral—Plus, Plenty of Valet Parking!—in America's Gilded Capital," was published in 2013. This satirical exploration of Washington D.C.'s political elite offers a scathing critique of the city's power dynamics. Currently, Barnicle contributes to The Daily Beast as a columnist and appears regularly on MSNBC as a political analyst. His work has earned him several awards, including three Emmys for his reporting. Barnicle continues to be a vocal commentator on American politics, using his platform to offer insightful analysis and thought-provoking perspectives.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"There's nothing more dangerous than a man who doesn't have to think about his next meal."

The quote by Mike Barnicle highlights the profound impact that lack of security in basic needs can have on an individual's behavior. When a person does not need to worry about their next meal, they are free to focus on higher-level pursuits such as self-improvement, creativity, and contributing positively to society. However, when one is preoccupied with meeting immediate physical needs like securing food, they may be more likely to act in ways that are selfish, reckless, or harmful due to the heightened stress and fear. This insight serves as a reminder of the importance of addressing poverty and inequality to promote stability, peace, and overall societal progress.

"The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on opening it."

This quote suggests that being receptive to new ideas or perspectives (an "open mind") can sometimes lead to encounters with opposing or challenging viewpoints, causing some discomfort or confusion. It's a reminder that open-mindedness requires courage and resilience in the face of differing opinions, as it may compel one to revise their beliefs or expand their understanding of various topics.

"Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want and deserve to get it good and hard."

This quote by Mike Barnicle suggests a critical, yet provocative view on democracy. He implies that in a democratic system, the collective will of the majority (the "common people") is supreme and should be respected and fulfilled. The phrase "good and hard" adds a hint of cynicism or irony, suggesting that pursuing what the people want may not always be easy, painless, or without negative consequences. It underscores the idea that while democracy offers the power to the many, it also demands responsibility for the outcomes of those decisions.

"You can't build a future with your hands on the past."

The quote emphasizes that to move forward, one must let go of the past. Dwelling on old experiences can hinder progress and prevent us from creating a new and better future for ourselves. It encourages a forward-looking mindset that allows us to adapt, innovate, and grow.

"Politics is show business for ugly people."

This quote by Mike Barnicle suggests that politics, like show business, involves a lot of performance, image-crafting, and public appeal. However, unlike the glamorous world of show business, politics often attracts individuals who may not be traditionally attractive or charismatic but are skilled in manipulating public opinion for personal gain. The quote is a cynical observation about the superficial aspects of political life, where personality and presentation can sometimes overshadow genuine competence and integrity.

Sixteen times a year, all thirty-two NFL teams give us what we're looking for: speed, skill, violence, fantasy league orgasms and a final score. No confusion. No doubt. No indecision. A winner and a loser.

- Mike Barnicle

Speed, Year, Score, Sixteen

I think blogging, by and large, is basically therapy. And I'm sure, and I know, that there are some terrific bloggers and some legitimate bloggers. But I think, by and large, a huge percentage of people who are blogging are doing it for self-therapy.

- Mike Barnicle

Doing, Think, Some, Percentage

Cardinal Raymond Burke is a 66-year-old guy who lives in Rome, dresses like Queen Elizabeth, and talks like someone who majored in misogyny at some bogus, backwoods, Bible-banging tent school.

- Mike Barnicle

Rome, Some, Elizabeth, Bogus

Everyone has a smart phone, and everything is recorded. One event spills into another. Conclusions come quickly at the near total expense of consideration of what just actually happened.

- Mike Barnicle

Everyone, Another, Quickly, Conclusions

Baseball is a movable conversation across nine innings. It is eye contact with the person seated next to you in a park where the pitcher is separated from the batter by 60 feet, six inches or in a family room where a 60-inch TV screen hangs on the wall.

- Mike Barnicle

Feet, Next, Nine, Seated

That's one of the great gifts of this, the greatest of all games, baseball: it allows you, still, to lose yourself in a dream, to feel and remember a season of life when summer never seemed to die and the assault of cynicism hadn't begun to batter optimism.

- Mike Barnicle

Optimism, Die, Assault, Batter

The United States of America, justifiably and proudly, went to war in Afghanistan in early winter of 2001. The United States invaded Iraq on a false premise in the spring of 2003.

- Mike Barnicle

United, United States, Iraq, Premise

Cops, more than firefighters, EMTs or other public safety employees, almost always get the first glance of the human condition at the worst, most lethal moments; nobody calls a cop with good news.

- Mike Barnicle

Other, Human Condition, Cops, Glance

Politicians in Washington work in a small, sheltered world where they lurch from crisis to crisis that they create, nurture and use as ideological triggers in their selfish pursuit of re-election.

- Mike Barnicle

Small, Crisis, Re-Election, Nurture

We live in a culture where everyone's opinion, view, and assessment of situations and people spill across social media, a lot of it anonymously, much of it shaped by mindless meanness and ignorance.

- Mike Barnicle

Everyone, Spill, Meanness, Mindless

Unlike other professions - doctor, lawyer, teacher, journalist, sales clerk, stock broker - when a cop makes a bad mistake, it could mean someone is dead. They take home mental baggage unlike anything carried in almost every other job.

- Mike Barnicle

Bad, Other, Baggage, Clerk

Clearly, the Iranians are well aware that Teheran would be turned into a field of glass and sand if they ever stepped toward open war with Israel or Saudi Arabia.

- Mike Barnicle

Glass, Stepped, Turned, Iranians

Sadly, it seems as if there is no longer any real history. Just momentary reactions to events that disappear like sky-writing with items like Twitter, texts, Meerkat, Snapchat, and Instagram.

- Mike Barnicle

Like, Momentary, Sadly, Snapchat

We have more tools at hand, literally, to make life easier and more productive than ever. We have Google, Wikipedia, iPads, iPhones, iTunes, YouTube, Netflix, and 600 cable channels. We can shop, pay bills, order food, and get nearly everything delivered, all of it with the touch of a finger on a device in the palm of our hand.

- Mike Barnicle

YouTube, Palm, Shop, iTunes

Fear is hugely contagious. Used skillfully by politicians looking to manipulate voters, it can become toxic and capable of infecting more than just a few.

- Mike Barnicle

Toxic, Voters, Hugely, Contagious

Reality is self-defined as the mob, any mob, writes its own history, never to be contradicted by the quiet statement of truth.

- Mike Barnicle

Truth, Never, Mob, Writes

At times, Mario Cuomo seemed to have the humility of a Jesuit and the goals of an emperor.

- Mike Barnicle

Humility, Times, Seemed, Emperor

If you want proof of what the country is really all about, just walk through the National September 11 Memorial Museum. Here it is, in the faces of the victims, in the stories of bravery, in the souls and memory of the survivors, the next of kin.

- Mike Barnicle

Through, Next, Here, Memorial

America provided things that form the foundation of who we used to be: the prospect and potential of hope, mercy, and freedom for strangers who came carrying not much more than a determination to survive in a big country with a bigger heart.

- Mike Barnicle

Big, Country, Provided, To Survive

You used to be able to identify Sox fans in Yankee Stadium. They sat, slump-shouldered, with the same panicked expectation nervous motorists have looking in the rearview mirror at the 16-wheeler behind them on Interstate 95 near New Haven.

- Mike Barnicle

Mirror, Behind, Used, Yankee Stadium

The middle-class ladder has rungs that no longer exist for many trying to climb higher. Instead, for too many, in too many places, their chore is simply trying to hang on.

- Mike Barnicle

Middle-Class, Hang, Many, Chore

The New York City police department is more representative of the city it serves than most law firms, university faculties, and media companies.

- Mike Barnicle

Law, City, New, Department

Charleston, South Carolina, is about a 90-minute drive northwest of Beaufort and Parris Island. It is an old city reborn with new charm and an influx of snowbirds from the North attracted by its ease, comfort and accessibility.

- Mike Barnicle

New, Ease, Carolina, Reborn

In Washington, politicians worry about their 'base.' About polls. About ideology. About raising money. About re-election. They measure their future in two- or six-year increments.

- Mike Barnicle

Worry, Raising, Re-Election, Base

Very few people live in the same house they move into when they're married or the same neighborhood when they're married. Very few people certainly live in the neighborhood they grew up in.

- Mike Barnicle

Move, Very, Certainly, Neighborhood

The refurbishing and rebuilding of Fenway Park since 2001 has created a new urban neighborhood in Boston.

- Mike Barnicle

Boston, New, Urban, Neighborhood

During the course of any normal day, I usually pay more attention to assembling a grocery list than I do to reading movie reviews, although there are a more than a few film critics who bring huge insight to their work.

- Mike Barnicle

Movie, Bring, Reviews, Assembling

It's your glove, your baseball glove. It's got a soul, a memory all its own, and a future that never fades because it has never let go of the grasp the past has on you and so many others.

- Mike Barnicle

Soul, Memory, Past, Let Go

What is forgiveness? An emotion? A coping mechanism? An element of deepest faith? A way for the heart and soul to combat the type of hate, anger, rage and a thirst for revenge that could ultimately consume a person? All of those and more?

- Mike Barnicle

Faith, Soul, Combat, Heart And Soul

Like most of us, Joe Biden has had moments when he's led the league in mistakes or verbal gaffes. The difference is his were on a public stage where explanations are almost always made out by pundits to be excuses.

- Mike Barnicle

Mistakes, Joe, Almost, Excuses

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