The convention is the voice, the bone and the sinews of a political party-and sometimes it even nominates an Abraham Lincoln.
Fletcher KnebelTo start with, there's the alien accent. "Tree" is the number between two and four. "Jeintz" is the name of the New York professional football team. A "fit" is a bottle measuring seven ounces less than a quart. This exotic tongue has no relationship to any of the approved languages at the United Nations, and is only slightly less difficult to master than Urdu.
Fletcher KnebelStatesmanship is harder than politics. Politics is the art of getting along with people, whereas statesmanship is the art of getting along with politicians.
Fletcher KnebelNever give up. For fifty years they said the horse was through. Now look at him - a status symbol.
Fletcher KnebelHollywood, to hear some writers tell it, is the place where they take an author's steak tartare and make cheeseburger out of it. Upon seeing the film, they say, the author promptly cuts his throat, bleeding to death in a pool of money.
Fletcher KnebelIt is now proved beyond doubt that smoking is one of the leading causes of statistics.
Fletcher KnebelOur forefathers made one mistake. What they should have fought for was representation without taxation.
Fletcher KnebelNo other city in the U.S. can divest the visitor of so much money with so little enthusiasm. In Dallas, they take away with gusto; in New Orleans, with a bow; in San Francisco, with a wink and a grin. In New York, you're lucky if you get a grunt.
Fletcher KnebelFind a man with both feet firmly on the ground and you've found a man about to make a difficult putt.
Fletcher Knebel