We must get the American public to look past the glitter, beyond the showmanship, to the reality, the hard substance of things. And we'll do it not so much with speeches that will bring people to their feet as with speeches that bring people to their senses.

A judge can manipulate the law. A smart lawyer can keep a killer out of jail.

The American people need no course in philosophy or political science or church history to know that God should not be made into a celestial party chairman.

Way down deep the American people are afraid of an entangling relationship between formal religions - or whole bodies of religious belief - and government.

You will not be able to tell that they are capable of greatness until you provide them with a packed house, a 3-and-2 count and the game is on the line.

Outrage is easy, cheap, and oversold. The nation needs less anger and more thoughtful reflection, less shouting and more listening, less dissembling and more honesty.

Most of us have achieved levels of affluence and comfort unthought of two generations ago. We've never had it so good, most of us. Nor have we ever complained so bitterly about our problems.