Are women necessary? Not with Ava around

As blue chips turn into penny stocks, Wall Street seems less like a symbol of America's macho capitalism and more like that famous Jane Austen character Mrs. Bennet, a flibbertigibbet always anxious about getting richer and her 'poor nerves.'

Celebrity distorts democracy by giving the rich, beautiful, and famous more authority than they deserve.

Afghanistan is more than the 'graveyard of empires.' It's the mother of vicious circles.

The Obamas, especially Michelle, have radiated the sense that Americans do not appreciate what they sacrifice by living in a gilded cage. They've forgotten Rule No. 1 of politics: No one sheds tears for anyone lucky enough to live at the White House.

F.D.R. achieved greatness not by means of imposing his temperament and intellect on the world but by reacting to what the world threw at him.

[On journalists:] We are a noisy, imperfect lot, struggling to scribble what has been called the first draft of history.