This is the Democratic paradox: You want so much to run America and yet you seem not so fond of Americans.

I think miracles exist in part as gifts and in part as clues that there is something beyond the flat world we see.

Abortion is either OK or it's not.

In the 1950s and '60s the [democrat] party included many obviously earnest and thoughtful liberals who supported goals that were in line with and expressions of serious beliefs. They believed that America was an exceptional country.

The first snow always startles. It covers the tricycle in the driveway, turning its frame into an abstact sculpture that says: See how quickly yesterday turns into today.

The Democratic Party is that amazing thing, out of power for six years and yet exhausted. They're pale, tired, and unready. Too bad, since it's their job to be an alternative, not an embarrassment.

The core of the concept of a bribe is an inducement improperly influencing the performance of a public function meant to be gratuitously exercised.