I have always regarded as a stroke of good fortune that I was not born or brought up in a small American town; they may be the backbone of the nation, but they are also the backbone of ignorance, bigotry, and boredom, all in vast quantities.

You hear all this whining going on, "Where are our great writers?" The thing I might feel doleful about is: Where are the readers?

Who gives a damn about being remembered? That's really for amateurs.

The people are not stupid, but they are totally misinformed.

My family helped start [this country], we've been in political life ... since the 1690s, and I have a very possessive sense about this country.

Many people in the United States happen to believe that United States policy is wrong in Vietnam and the Vietcong are correct in wanting to organize their country in their own way politically. This happens to be pretty much the opinion of western Europe and the other parts of the world.

The Gores, I think, are a bit brighter than the Bushes, historically speaking.