Previously known for its six syllables of sweetness and light, reconciliation has become the political fighting word of the year.

Never put the story in the lead. Let 'em have a hot shot of ambiguity right between the eyes.

To be accused of 'channeling' is to be dismissed as a ventriloquist's live dummy, derogated at not having a mind of one's own.

If America cannot win a war in a week, it begins negotiating with itself.

I want my questions answered by an alert and experienced politician, prepared to be grilled and quoted -- not my hand held by an old smoothie.

On the analogy of 'Dictionary Johnson,' we call Fred R. Shapiro, editor of the just-published Yale Book of Quotations (well worth the $50 price), 'Quotationeer Shapiro.' Shapiro does original research, earning his 1,067-page volume a place on the quotation shelf next to Bartlett's and Oxford's.

If you re-read your work, you can find on re-reading a great deal of repetition can be avoided by re-reading and editing.