The weirder you're going to behave, the more normal you should look. It works in reverse, too. When I see a kid with three or four rings in his nose, I know there is absolutely nothing extraordinary about that person.

Who does Bill Clinton think got off the boat and stepped on Plymouth Rock? Peace Corps volunteers?

I like to do my principal research in bars, where people are more likely to tell the truth or, at least, lie less convincingly than they do in briefings and books.

When you think of the good old days, think one word: dentistry.

Microeconomics is about money you don't have, and macroeconomics is about money the government is out of.

I had really not been out of the United States much, except for Mexico. I thought, "Jesus Christ, this [Russia] is like a whole new world." Instead of writing Michael Jackson one-glove jokes, all I had to do was go to these weird places and keep my eyes and ears open.

The dominant type of humor in the '60s was essentially defensive and self-deprecating, using humor as a shield.