In preaching conservative doctrine, Goldwater's jeremiads seemed to be preaching the end of the old world, while Reagan's pep talks seemed to trumpet the beginning of a new one.

Kennedy echoed Stanley Baldwin that a democracy is always two years behind a dictator.

The great actors always play themselves.

One biographer said Kennedy lived along the line where charm became power.

As sometimes happens with men who wish to fight but do not or cannot, Reagan developed a romantic image of the military.

And in this moment, like a swift intake of breath, the rain came.

The notion of a neutral, mainstream national media gained dominance only in World War II and in its aftermath, when what turned out to be a temporary moderate consensus came to govern the country.

Often, organizations need bold, grand gestures to galvanize people towards a new mission or refocus their attention.

My father, a fine chess player himself, has been a massive influence throughout my life.

An event is not over until everyone is tired of talking about it.

It's much easier to have nothing to live up to. You surprise people when you form a full sentence.

A good school provides a rounded education for the whole person. And a good Catholic school, over and above this, should help all its students to become saints.

If you're politically correct, chances are you're not coming to one of my shows. I get to go onstage and say things that everybody thinks all the time, but can't say out loud.

You can't solve a spiritual problem with politics. You may as well as throw the Parliament to a drowning man.

Okay, maybe I don't go around loving everybody I meet, maybe my smiles are hard to come by, but I do care for some people.