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.

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

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.

I've always found that avoiding insanity is useful in life - which in American politics sometimes puts one in the minority.

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

While, as I recall, conservative little boys practice quick draw with their cap guns while playing cowboys and Indians, apparently liberal little boys practice how fast they can throw up their hands to surrender to the guys in the black hats.

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.