If a senator calls me up and asks me what should we do in Iraq, I'm happy to talk to him.

The tallest building in the world is now in Dubai.

The Berlin Wall wasn't the only barrier to fall after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War. Traditional barriers to the flow of money, trade, people and ideas also fell.

Street protests in Saudi Arabia might warm our hearts, but they could easily lead to $250 a barrel oil and a global recession.

Thanks to the Communist Party of China, we now know the path to poverty alleviation is Capitalism.

But as the arms-control scholar Thomas Schelling once noted, two things are very expensive in international life: promises when they succeed and threats when they fail.

I am an American, not by accident of birth but by choice. I voted with my feet and became an American because I love this country and think it is exceptional.

It all looks American because America, the country that invented mass capitalism and consumerism, got there first. the impact of mass capitalism is now universal.

You know, when the cost of capital goes down, when credit becomes cheap, people start taking greater and greater risks.

In a world awash in debt, power shifts to creditors.

Democracy is also a single ideology, and, like all such templates, it has its limits. what works in a legislature might not work in a corporation.

Thinking about swimming isn't much like actually getting in the water. Actually getting in the water can take your breath away.

The Beatties were always arguing, it gave them an interest in life.

Of all the jobs I've had, sliming fish was pretty good preparation for life in Washington.

The love of Americans for their country is not an indulgent, it is an exacting and chastising love; they cannot tolerate its defects.

War: that mad game the world so loves to play.

I love playing these characters that are crazy tough, though. Because I am not in real life. Not at all.

Film is wonderful as opposed to theater, because it will always live there, and they will always be seen.

I have a secret stash of Nutella that I pull out when necessary. That chocolate-hazelnut combo is my wife's kryptonite.

Today, to allege corruption seems to be the pastime of most people. All kinds of allegations are leveled. I think it is self-defeating.

I like freedom. I wake up in the morning and say, 'I don't know, should I have a popsicle or a donut?' You know, who knows?