The premise of my book is that everyone is a bit ideological to some extent. Everyone comes from a ideological perspective.

(I)f France's righteous bloviating against war makes them your Dashboard Saint of International Integrity, it's either because you are sand-poundingly ignorant of how the world works or it's because you think France's self-interest is more important than America's. If the former applies to you, read a book. If it's the latter, maybe you should move there along with Alec Baldwin, Robert Altman, and the rest of the crowd who promised to leave a long time ago. But whatever you do, don't call France's position principled, because that just insults us both.

One of the things that really drove me crazy was the way in which college kids, in particular, are educated to think that ideology is dangerous and bad.

If we say that anyone who 'moralizes' must be perfect morally then we are in effect saying no one can moralize.

Someone once noted that a 'gaffe' in Washington is when a politician accidentally tells the truth.

Cultures grow on the vine of tradition.

The government cannot love you, and any politics that works on a different assumption is destined for no good.