Consensus Quotations

The areas of consensus shift unbelievably fast; the bubbles of certainty are constantly exploding.

The art market is global now, and there's becoming more of an international consensus about what constitutes good art.

A quarter-century after the end of the Vietnam War, and eleven years after the collapse of the Berlin wall, it has become commonplace to say that we Americans have no consensus on foreign policy. Across the political spectrum, left or right, most Americans still cling to whatever assumptions they held during our long journey through the Cold War.

Consensus wisdom has it that all modern commercial fantasy novels fall into two camps: those derived from J.R.R. Tolkien and those derived from Mervyn Peake. The 'Lord of the Rings' template or the 'Gormenghast' mold.

Ultimately a genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus.

The general consensus seems to be that I don't act at all

Yet the effort to inform the public also encouraged responsible public discussion that succeeded in developing a consensus for the measured approach that many scientists supported.

The Obama administration's attempted short-term fixes, even with unprecedented monetary easing by the Federal Reserve, produced average GDP growth of just 2.2% over the past three years, and the consensus outlook appears no better for the year ahead.

There is universal consensus among experts that the earth's atmosphere is heating up - and that we are responsible for it by putting carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. We also know that the consequences of global warming are catastrophic. But how do we make sure that all countries reduce greenhouse gases?

Then I sit down, work at it, because now I have a convincing feeling about what that place wants to be, you see? And it's not just me. Me and my talent comes in taking that consensus and then making something wonderful out of it - a work of art.

After a week of back and forth, and forth and back over firearms, it's good to see a consensus developing on this common-sense amendment to keep handguns away from children.

There is no consensus, there is no homogeneity, there is no truth.

It's an embarrassment that we don't have a broad enough consensus among political leaders that true reform should take place. I could count the members of Congress on one hand that took these issues seriously.

I strongly believe in political activity that has to do with choices - and not consensus that sometimes covers problems and doesn't resolve them.

The military alone cannot end the conflict in Afghanistan. On that much nearly everyone can agree, offering a rare island of consensus among sides otherwise divided on the question of how and when America's longest-ever war should wind down.

Space can vibrate, space can fluctuate, space can be quantum mechanical, but what the devil is it? And, you know, everybody has their own idea about what it is, but there's no coherent final consensus on why there is space.

Imperfect though it may be, the Beijing Platform for Action is the strongest statement of consensus on women's equality, empowerment and justice ever produced by governments.

There's a growing consensus that the best way to defeat communism in Cuba is to get its citizens hooked on American goods.

There's a bit of debate about that; some say it was really Matthew, but the popular consensus is that Mark was the first one, so that's why I did that one first. And I was planning on doing all four.

Israelis and Palestinians are suspicious of each other and of promises from outside. But the need for a negotiated solution between the parties should not stymie international clarity and consensus about the endgame in terms of borders and other issues.

America is a place where we all come together. It is a place of consensus.

For the moment, machines able to 'think' in anything approaching a human sense remain science-fiction. How we should prepare for their potential emergence, however, is a deeply unsettling question - not least because intelligent machines seem considerably more achievable than any consensus around their programming or consequences.

You can never solve a problem without talking to people with whom you disagree. The United States Senate is predicated and based on consensus building. That was certainly the vision of the founding fathers.

Blending consensus historical events and personages with imaginary occult forces is a strong recipe for counterfactual storytelling goodness that combines the best of two worlds: resonant history with wild-eyed fantasy.

I believe that there is a bipartisan consensus to have individual mandates.

That was the first major social sciences conference at which social scientists from all cultures wanted to reach a consensus on whether we can continue to pursue a national course in the social sciences or whether we need a cosmopolitan path that also connects us in a new way.

Why is there space rather than no space? Why is space three-dimensional? Why is space big? We have a lot of room to move around in. How come it's not tiny? We have no consensus about these things. We're still exploring them.

Consensus building doesn't necessarily fit with my experience.

Consensus doesn't happen by magic... You have to drive to it.

Politics is a herd mentality. Politicians don't really lead. Politicians reflect what they think is consensus opinion.

Clinton saw himself much more as the steward of alliances and of consensus that moved in the right direction. He didn't see himself as someone who could change the overall thrust, I think, of global policy.

I don't think consensus-building politics is what I'm meant to be doing.

We need to codify our values and build consensus around what we want from a free society and a free Internet. We need to put into law protections for our privacy and our right to speak and assemble.

The two most frightening words in Washington are 'bipartisan consensus.' Bipartisan consensus is when my doctor and my lawyer agree with my wife that I need help.

One of the key reasons payrolls exceeded the consensus was due to a 31K gain in manufacturing jobs, the first gain in 11 months. With more of these high-paying jobs in the mix, average wages were pulled higher.

If we get a GDP or deflator number that's much stronger than the consensus estimate, then it could hurt the market because people will be talking about a tougher Fed.

Nobody is going to be 100 percent satisfied with this text, but I think it is a basis for all of us to say our main interest is covered by it and that we recognize it reflects the best consensus we can come to now.

When the islands became a state in 1959, ... there was a broad consensus in Congress that Native Hawaiians would not be treated as a separate racial group, and that they would not be transformed into an 'Indian tribe.'

Let us be driven by the responsibilities we have and feel, responsibilities to our respective countries, to humanity, to our one and only planet, ... Let us seek consensus for outcomes that move us all toward substantial solutions. Let us set our sights on an effective, more inclusive, long-term international approach to climate change.

Let people try what they want in their states, providing it meets certain standards. It will mean diversity. It's also a way of building consensus over time of what needs to be done, something you can't do if you go nationally initially.

Some analysts seemed to think the company would have an upside surprise, ... But they reported right in line with what the consensus was.

One should not allow a minority or small minority to withhold their consent unreasonably. They should have the courage to vote and take decisions. But they tend to want to get consensus at all costs, and therefore you have 191 vetoes,

More important (than heightened expectations of a policy switch next week) is what sort of policy framework the BOJ can present for the post-quantitative easing era, and there doesn't seem to be a consensus yet on this among the board members.

My door is always open to any member who wishes to build consensus on reducing unnecessary spending. My preference is to consider any proposal in a thoughtful, deliberate manner rather than reading about it in the newspaper.

Poland needs to reconsider its mistakes. But more than that, it needs a consensus based on truth.

Peoria, Connecticut, Atlanta, ... I've got the Big East tournament on Thursday, the ACC on Friday, the SEC on Saturday. Then we've got the NCAA tournament. We've had guys out for the past six months. We've seen all the consensus top high school guys. We've been to Europe. We've ranked all the NBA players from all 29 teams. We've got guys everywhere.

Negotiations that lie ahead won't be easy, ... But we are all in the same boat, headed for the same harbor. We will charter the voyage, but there is a consensus among the six nations that it's much better to sail together than jumping off the boat.

Numbers were below consensus because they had a big impact from the hurricanes and the closure of Texas City. These were events outside their control.

Lebanon is the true land of consensus par excellence,

There are two key challenges to the U.S. market: one is Fed policy -- and it's still our concern that the Fed will be increasing rates this side of Christmas; secondly, it's the slowing corporate earnings outlook. Although corporate earnings are still probably going to rise, I think there's a concern that numbers may come in below consensus and drive the markets down.

Many changes can be expected to be made to the legislation during the Senate floor debate. Sen. Lugar hopes the Senate will consider a consensus bill that updates immigration policy in a comprehensive way.

Many market observers are coming out with the belief that the market will break upward after the election. Such strong consensus views often don't turn out to be a reality.

so I hope we can build a consensus around what is a very liberal position on this issue, and that we can give Australians the right that New Zealanders have.

The prime minister is traveling without trying to make consensus here. I prefer to be with the majority.

The principal reason for Citigroup's shortfall versus consensus was the 10 cents of charges related to Latin America, which were expected. The order of magnitude was harder to ascertain but the fact that they were going to have to take additional charges was expected.

President Obama has earned my vote on the basis of his excellent judicial appointments, his consensus-building foreign policy and the improvements he has brought about in the disastrous economy he inherited.

I would say the consensus is that the Fed goes to a neutral position on inflation.

I would say the market has been a bit sanguine about Friday's employment report, the consensus being 125,000, with a number of big shops looking for softer numbers than consensus than in the previous two months.

Greenspan is an orthodox thinker in most ways, but you have give him credit for questioning consensus thinking.

Given that the employment report will be released on Friday, the appetite for selling the dollar may be limited especially with the consensus for non-farm payrolls gradually creeping higher from the original reading of 200,000.

Given the current outlook, we expect to modestly exceed the first quarter consensus estimate of $0.75 per share,

I am sure the full range of issues involving Kosovo will be discussed, but I believe that the consensus in NATO very clearly is to stay the course,

I can't say enough for what I learned at that point about the art of negotiation, about how state government really works, ... And in the end, it's not something that's all that abnormal. It's a process of compromise and consensus because for the budget to get done, you need that.

Getting a global consensus, it turns out, is not that easy. We're hoping we're going to get widespread support so we can stand up and say to the U.S. government that this is a true consensus document.

Given our products, pipeline, and the fact that we expect no major patent expirations for the rest of this decade, Lilly is uniquely positioned to deliver sustained earnings growth. For 2006, we anticipate earnings per share of $3.10 to $3.20, which represents 8% to 12% growth compared with expected 2005 adjusted earnings. This growth rate is nearly double the average Wall Street consensus forecast for large-cap pharmaceutical companies.

Given the weaker outlook, we expect the 2001 consensus estimate of $1.76 to come down substantially.

If a person has a quality of life and an expectation for improving that are both by all evidence, by all consensus negligible, is there a general right to life?

From the suites of Davos to the streets of Seattle, there is a growing consensus that globalization must now be reshaped to reflect values broader than simply the freedom of capital.

I don't think it's going to be a clear shot to double-digit stock fund returns for the rest of the year because financial services stocks still must show up for the party. The Federal Reserve remains the elephant in the room, and there is a building consensus that it will raise rates another quarter-point in May.

I expect that we will achieve consensus on Monday,

IBM continues to believe that it can hit consensus EPS targets. In a deteriorating environment, this undeniably represents a solid showing.

But we don't think this language quarrels with the consensus view of financial markets - and our view - that an easing cycle will most likely begin in September.

Business conditions continue to be robust. The company expressed high confidence in its third-quarter guidance of greater than $3 billion in bookings, $2.6 to $2.7 million in revenue and EPS of 64 to 68 cents. We believe guidance is conservative and estimate bookings of $3.3 billion with EPS of 70 cents, versus the Street consensus of 68 cents a share.

But some people will be keying on his comments to see whether he tries to build more of a consensus on inflation targeting.

China's territory and sovereignty are indivisible and brook no violation, ... Taiwan is an inalienable part of Chinese territory, which is a historical fact and also the consensus of the international community.

Basically, the consensus is Stayton and Cascade will be at the top. ... But I think we've improved enough to be in the playoffs. It's just how focused we can be in the next (eight) games.

To get eight U.N. agencies with completely different missions and three governments to get a consensus on something was astounding,

What we were trying to do here is to find a consensus that this was a good direction to go in and that there weren't any fundamental problems, and I think we pretty much agreed on that.

When interest rates go up, the utilities don't do so well, and I think there's a developing consensus that they've gone awfully far.

When Howard signed a Sirius deal in October 2004, we had 660,000 subscribers. Analysts' consensus predicted 2 million by 2005, but we are already at 3.3 million. Clearly, this jump can be attributable to Howard.

We may do slightly better in sales and in profitability than present consensus expectations of the investment community. The longer-term business climate is improving, although we believe it is premature to increase consensus sales and earnings estimates for the full year of 1999 beyond their present levels.

We may have a greater consensus on this matter in German society than we thought.

We may not come to a consensus on this at this meeting, ... But this is the beginning of a discussion. We need to have it.

We maintain our 'equal-weight' rating on Intel, but believe that a better buying opportunity will likely occur after consensus earnings estimates are reduced.

If the core CPI is above market consensus forecast of a rise of 0.4 pct year-on-year, this would fuel speculation that the Bank of Japan will end its ultra-easy monetary policy at its meeting next week, which could spark a spate of yen-buying.

If the core CPI is above market consensus forecast of a rise of 0.4 percent year-on-year, this would fuel speculation that the Bank of Japan will end its ultra-easy monetary policy at its meeting next week, which could spark a spate of yen-buying.

If the decision was made by consensus or straw vote in the executive session, that was a clear violation of the open meetings law.

He has done what a head of an independent agency should do. He's tried to obtain the consensus to move forward under the act, but he also agrees that the act has to be revamped and I look forward to getting his advice as we go forward.

He has a way of saying things, a way of putting things, that takes complex legal concepts and puts them in common-sense terms that can gather consensus and persuade.

I'm a great believer in our ability to come up with the ideas necessary to solve the big questions. I have less confidence that we'll be able to find a consensus about which ones are right without experiment.

there is an emerging consensus that is hostile to the simplistic annual standard as the basis for triggering New Source Review.

The range of views now include a unified consensus that the failures are Iraq's, that the consequences are Iraq's and that the international community believes that Saddam Hussein is failing to comply with his required obligations.

He'd like to bring in inflation targeting. (But) he must build consensus to do so and he doesn't have consensus now. I think he's going to make a smooth transition, but it's going to be an evolution in policy change.

He doesn't want to err on the side of conservatism. The consensus is that he will do one more cut and then that might be the end of it for some time.

There is no group arguing that the Fed has gone too far. There is a broad consensus that if the data shows rising operating rates, further moves will be needed.

There is more of a consensus than I saw in the past in terms of how people see things,

There is no consensus as to what it is and how to diagnose it. People describe all sorts of symptoms as dyslexia. And if you do diagnose it, it does not point to any intervention in particular, ... It's one of those terms that is like the Cheshire Cat if it does exist, we don't know what to do about it.

There is no consensus at all about what the budget debate is supposed to accomplish.

There is no consensus in NATO today for a ground invasion force.

There is no consensus in the Republican Party.