The guy who wins the Oscar for Best Actor has a much higher bar to clear than the woman who wins best actress.

You can only write, 'Somebody wants something, something else is in their way of getting it.'

I like workplace shows and White House was a very glamorous workplace to set a show in; it appealed to a sense of romanticism and idealism that I have.

I had never thought of doing television. But my agent wanted me to meet John Wells, who had had a lot of success producing ER and China Beach. The night before the meeting, some friends were over for dinner and Akiva Goldsman and I slipped downstairs to the basement so we could sneak a cigarette. He said, "You know what would make a good television series? That." And he was pointing at The American President poster. He said, "There doesn't have to be a romance, just focus on a senior staffer."

I consider plot a necessary intrusion on what I really want to do, which is write snappy dialogue. But when I'm writing, the way the words sound is as important to me as what they mean.

A friend is somebody who says the same things to your face that they would say if you're not in the room.

The real problem with all drugs is that they work. Fantastically. They're great, right up until the moment they kill you.