[Donald ] Trump is more important than all of us. He's more important than the media.

There will be trying times during Obama's presidency, and liberty will need staunch defenders. Can Obama reshape liberalism to be, as it was under F.D.R., a fighting faith, unapologetically patriotic and strong in the defense of liberty? That would be a service to our country.

I think the whole dynamic is different. Whereas in [Barack] Obama's case, even though there was no incumbent, he was able to run against eight years of Bush-Cheney and a Republican Congress, and everyone was tired of everything. He was able to benefit from that.

The media claimed to be non-partisan, centrist. It's not been that way for a lot of history.

I think there was a moment in the middle part of the century into the 60s, 70s when at least elite journalism claimed to be non-partisan. You can go back and look at it and wonder about how non-partisan it was.

Republicans can also point to an alternate path. They can draw upon genuine experts to explain what should be done.

I am on the whole a defender of the current, despite being a conservative. I mean, I think things are better than when I was younger.