Success Quote by Paul Begala

Power in politics often arrives before the argument even starts, hiding in the dictionary. Paul Begala’s line is a blunt operator’s truth: if you control the frame, you control the fight. “Defining the terms” isn’t a neutral preface; it’s the quiet act of deciding what counts as common sense, what counts as extreme, and what evidence will even be allowed through the door.

The phrasing matters. “Generally dictates” signals a veteran’s cynicism, not absolutism: there are always exceptions, but most of the time the referee is whoever wrote the rules. “Who’s gonna’ win it” leans colloquial on purpose, stripping away the pretend civility of pundit discourse. This isn’t about lofty deliberation; it’s about winning. Begala, a Democratic strategist turned media figure, is speaking from the ecosystem where messaging is policy’s shadow government: talk radio, cable news chyrons, focus groups, campaign war rooms. In that world, the first victory is naming.

Subtext: debates are rarely settled by facts alone because facts don’t self-organize. Call something “tax relief” and you’ve smuggled in the verdict that taxes are an injury. Label a program “government takeover” and you’ve made skepticism the default posture. Even “debate” becomes suspect here; it implies two equal sides meeting on fair terrain, when Begala is pointing out that the terrain is constructed.

The intent isn’t to lament manipulation so much as to teach literacy: watch the nouns, the metaphors, the starting premises. The fight is often over before it’s televised.