Conflict, when used as a device, makes for good television and bad journalism.

A hero would die for his country, but he'd much rather live for it.

Honestly, I don't try to guess at what most people want. I don't think I'd guess right, and I just think that that's not a good recipe for storytelling. I try to write what I like, what I think my friends would like.

My preference would have been to not go back on the air after 9\11, at all until the time felt right but that wasn't an option.

I would love for people to think that I am as quick, clever, smart and heroic as the characters that I write, but those characters are characters.

Larry David called me and said, "You can never watch The West Wing again. Either the show is going to be great without you and you're going to be miserable, or the show is going to be less than great without you and you're going to be miserable." So I had them send a tape of the first episode that I didn't do. I put it in the VCR and I don't think I got 15 seconds in before I leapt up and slammed it off! It felt like I was watching somebody make out with my girlfriend. I've never seen a West Wing episode in seasons five, six or seven.

I'm not interested in the difference between good and bad, I'm interested in the differences between good and great.