Politics & Power Quote by Pete du Pont

Du Pont’s sentence is a small masterclass in elite confidence disguised as democratic respect. On the surface, it flatters voters: the public is “beginning” to see what’s ahead, “distinguish the landmarks,” and “know where it wants [to] go.” But the verbs do the real work. Beginning. At least. Distinguish. This isn’t a celebration of popular wisdom so much as a reassurance to fellow insiders that the masses are finally catching up to what leadership already understands.

The road metaphor is classic late-20th-century political rhetoric: history as a highway, policy as navigation, dissent as mere confusion. It naturalizes a particular direction without naming it, which is the point. By keeping the destination vague, du Pont can imply inevitability while avoiding specifics that might polarize. The “landmarks on either side” suggests a choice between recognizable options - competing ideologies, parties, or futures - yet the framing assumes the route is already mapped. Voters aren’t charting new territory; they’re learning to read the signs.

“Newt” anchors the context: this is Gingrich-era Republicanism, an insurgent style with managerial ambitions. Du Pont, a business-minded governor from Delaware, is signaling alignment with a sharper, more confrontational GOP project while keeping the language optimistic and orderly. The final line gives away the hierarchy: “We have a chance to lead it there.” The public may “know where it wants to go,” but leadership still decides what “there” means - and claims the steering wheel.