And really, the basis, I think, of achieving some success in what I want to do today comes from my mother's push to get me to read and to make something of myself from the standpoint of an education.

The President's very shrewd

I'd rather work with someone who's good at their job but doesn't like me, than someone who likes me but is a ninny.

In 27 years of reporting from Washington, I've never heard a President admit he made a mistake.

The press . . . traditionally sides with authority and the establishment.

And from a military school which taught me that to fit into society, you can't just do anything you damn well please because it will suit you. And that it's much better to be with the winners than it is with the losers.

My mother gave me a push. If I hadn't had her, maybe I wouldn't have had the push. If I hadn't gone to military school, maybe I wouldn't have decided to get with the program. Maybe I'd be running a bulldozer, rather than going on and doing something more.