The closer one gets to elections or wars, the further one gets from the truth.

As boom- and bust-prone as high finance always has been and remains, the greatest systemic risk to our economy is not Wall Street. It's the growing federal debt (and weakening dollar) being enacted by those Washington politicians - the ones who want to protect us from Wall Street.

We think we can't survive without deficit spending - but we soon won't be able to survive with deficit spending, either.

It may not be fair, but it's true that in politics - in TV broadcasting, in any public figure - people pay attention to your appearances. One of the things we were all talking about was Al Gore won't be running for president unless we see that he's losing weight. Americans usually elect a taller man president.

The fact is that we do pay attention. I think that it's unfortunately the case, whether you're a man or woman and you're running for president you need to look as good as you can look.

A Diogenesian search for an honest person would rarely lead to the author of a memoir.

The Republican party must break with its long-established instinct for caution and make a bold stand for first principles of freedom and constitutional limitations on government - from full repeal of Obamacare to rolling back multitrillion-dollar deficits. This is not so much a reproach of past Republican conduct as it is a recognition of new opportunities.