Overreaction is one of the things that congress specializes in. I can't think of anything congress does better than overreact.

The only person who was a strong public opponent of the war in Iraq is Barack Obama. The other people weren't. So I can understand why all the left is mad, because they're being shut out.

The coverage of Central America in recent months points up one of the ugly truths about the American press: the better the news, the less of it you get. As the war began to turn against the Communist guerillas in El Salvador, there was a palpable dip in the attention paid to it.

Presidents with strong nerves are decisive. They don't balk at unpopular decisions. They are willing to make people angry. Bush had strong nerves. Clinton, who passed up a chance to eliminate Osama bin Laden, did not. Obama is a people pleaser, a trait not normally associated with nerves of steel.

Ronald Reagan has a story for every occasion. Bill Clinton has an excuse for every occasion.

Religion's crucial role in the lives of many people... is rejected out of hand by the political community, especially the press.

Candidates don't have to deal with reality. They talk about the wonderful things they can accomplish as if advocating them is the same as achieving them. They live in a world of political make-believe in which everything from reconciling conflicting interests to paying for costly programs is easy.