I came to political consciousness with John F. Kennedy's magnificent 1961 Inaugural Address. It seemed the start of something fresh and exciting, and it was.

I've been described as a grizzled political veteran.

What do you do in a novel? You take recognizable characters from your own life, and you fantasize about what they're really like.

Novel writing should never be confused with journalism. Unfortunately, in the case of Primary Colors, a fair number of journalists confused.

You know, larger than life is always better than smaller than life in politicians. And, you know, God save us from mediocrities.

You can't get all of your news from Jon Stewart, especially since it's a comedy show.

I believe that poverty is often the result of inappropriate behavior - out-of-wedlock births, dropping out of school, crime and drugs - which should not be rewarded. But often it isn't, and common decency requires that we take care of the least of these.