Women communicate differently and process information differently, which leads them to resolve conflicts differently.

Barack Obama is the most famous living person in the history of the world.

Trying to negotiate getting a couple of kids to watch the same TV show requires serious diplomacy.

Washington is still very much a male-oriented culture. Being from Los Angeles, I think it is less so there - there is less attachment to tradition, perhaps, there is more flexibility, more acceptance of change generally. That is partly because of Hollywood.

The exposed nature of life in the public square affects leaders' attitudes toward risk - and failure.

I worked for a lot of candidates, in tough campaigns that lost. Most of my candidates lost until Bill Clinton. There was always a point where you look in their eyes and they knew it was over. And there was never that point with Clinton. He never quit. He never gave up.

One thing I think is least realistic is that there were five people that made decisions in the fictional 'West Wing.' In real life, there are about five million people that weigh in.