We believe in the power of 21st-century international norms. Russian President Vladimir Putin believes in the power of lies and brute force, and implicitly asks, in the spirit of Josef Stalin, 'How many divisions do international norms have?'

Clinton's fakery was so deft and deeply ingrained that it was impossible to tell where it ended and the real Bill Clinton began. This constituted a kind of political genius.

John Kerry couldn't even order a Philly cheesesteak properly.

France will always be France no matter what, but America involves striving toward an ideal.

I think likelier targets are [Steve] Mnuchin, the Treasury pick. When you look at his dealings during the financial crisis, that's going to be a target rich environment, and [Rex] Tillerson.

Al Gore adopted three utterly different personas in three national presidential debates.

Republican hawks like John McCain and Lindsey Graham who are very skeptical of [Rex Tillerson]. At the same time the Democrats will portray him as a climate criminal because he heads a big oil company. So, he'll be in for really tough confirmation hearings.