The rumors of Frank Sinatras violence and his ties to organized crime were such that journalists joked in print about me ending up in concrete boots and sleeping with the fishes if I proceeded to write his biography.

I tend to place my own value in spirituality rather than religiosity.

Gay marriage has jumped out of the closet on to the front page. Everyone from the president of the U.S. to retired four-star general Colin Powell is embracing the issue, now supported by most Americans. Still, a few people, like former First Lady Laura Bush appear to be conflicted.

I admired Eugene McCarthy’s courage and although I left his Senate staff after four years to accept a job as the researcher on the editorial page of the Washington Post, I remained an admirer.

A hero is someone we can admire without apology.

I have believed in the biographies I have written. I truly can tell you that they have influenced our society politically, culturally, socially.

Barack Obama and Michelle Obama don't go to Georgetown. The Clintons did, indeed. And the Clintons go out and about in Washington now. They go to neighborhood restaurants.