A liberal is a person who believes that water can be made to run uphill. A conservative is someone who believes everybody should pay for his water. I'm somewhere in between: I believe water should be free, but that water flows downhill.

Every American election summons the individual voter to weigh the past against the future.

It is almost nicer being a godfather than a father, like having white mice but making your nanny feed them for you.

Closeness to power heightens the dignity of all men.

You can't get unless you give. And you have to give without wanting to get.

The power of the press in America is a primordial one. It sets the agenda of public discussion; and this sweeping political power is unrestrained by any law. It deter- mines what people will talk and think about-an authority that in other nations is reserved for tyrants, priests, parties and mandarins.

If you make a living, if you earn your own money, you're free - however free one can be on this planet.