In order to get big things done, sometimes, presidents have to be deft at moving the pea around under the shells.

If religion comes into the public square, it is as vulnerable as any other human institution to be pelted with produce. Ignorance does not become wisdom just because you gussy it up with the Gospels.

It's better to be black than gay because when you're black you don't have to tell your mother.

It is the doctrine of the oligarchy that there is nothing that we hold in common, that the commonwealth is a myth, that it is even a sign of softheadedness and weakness. The oligarchical power feeds on the sense that we are all individuals, struggling on our own, and ennobled by the effort.

Campaigns are no longer high-minded exchanges of ideas, even though God knows we need more good ones - ideas, that is.

There is a lot in American politics (and in American life) that is angry, greedy, reckless and violent.

I think, over the last couple of years, the written word has made a comeback on the Internet. For example, I'm seeing more long-form narrative experiments there. The overall noise level, however, continues to increase. Do we really need TV screens to watch when we pump gas? Really?