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.

It seems to me that more and more we've come to expect less and less from each other, and I think that should change.

Only criminals and adulterers should have to hide who they are.

This is a time for serious people, Bob, and your fifteen minutes are up.

I'd been concerned all along that the character of the president in the West Wing pilot would throw the ensemble out of whack, that that character would simply take up all the oxygen in a room. I wanted to hold off bringing this character in until the last possible moment.

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

If you close your eyes you can imagine the hackers sitting in a room, combing through the documents to find the ones that will draw the most blood. And in a room next door are American journalists doing the same thing. As demented and criminal as it is, at least the hackers are doing it for a cause. The press is doing it for a nickel.