Great speeches have always had great soundbites. The problem now is that the young technicians who put together speeches are paying attention only to the soundbite, not to the text as a whole, not realizing that all great soundbites happen by accident, which is to say, all great soundbites are yielded up inevitably, as part of the natural expression of the text. They are part of the tapestry, they aren't a little flower somebody sewed on.

The 2008 election settled nothing, not even for a while. Our national politics are reflecting what appears to be going on geologically, on the bottom of the oceans and beneath the crust of the Earth: the tectonic plates are moving.

Some of the stupidest brilliant people who ever lived.

It's better for the country when each party looks like it stands for something serious, for some big things, but they're not narrow and they're not bought.

Speeches are more important in politics than talking points, as a rule, and are better remembered.

Part of courage is simple consistency.

Let's cause some senators distress.