Writing is the rock on which everything is built.

I still love following and thinking about politics. I enjoy recommending important journalism I read or see from other sources.

Stay with CBS now for more news, including: Is there a pall over the mall as holiday shoppers think small?

Well, first of all, I don't want to debate the word conservative, but by my definition, a conservative is someone who wants to conserve the Constitution of the United States and the American tradition and law that no one is above the law.

It's a legitimate point to debate. But it's part of the reality. It's happening, but it's also true they (looters) are in the distinct minority. I think there's a hero on every street corner in New Orleans, and I think the reporting has shown that. I think the balance has been there.

I think it's important for the public to know, great reporting starts with a publisher who has guts and an editor who has guts.

Tonight, savagery in the streets of Iraq. Ten Americans die in a single day, four of them civilians murdered, mutilated and dragged through the streets....What drives American civilians to risk death in Iraq? In this economy it may be, for some, the only job they can find.