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

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."

The first step in solving any problem is recognizing there is one - America is not the greatest country in the world anymore.

If I get an idea for a series that I really like, I'm sure I won't be able to resist coming back and doing it.

To use a basketball metaphor, West Wing cast was a group that liked to pass as much as they liked to shoot.

Pretty much up until The West Wing, our leaders had always been portrayed in popular culture as either Machiavellian or dolts. But I thought, "What if we show a group of people who are highly competent, they're going to lose as much as they win, but we're going to understand that they wake up every morning wanting to do good?" That was really the spirit behind The West Wing.

It's nice that HBO is in business with the audience and not with the advertisers. There's a difference.