Like Lyndon Johnson, President Obama understands that timidity in a time of troubles is a prescription for failure.

The consequence of the Bay of Pigs failure wasn't an acceptance of Castro and his control of Cuba but, rather, a renewed determination to bring him down by stealth.

In counterfactual history, nothing is certain.

... what's in a person's heart and soul will not likely be changed by the ability to command a helicopter to land on the South Lawn.

What makes war interesting for Americans is that we don't fight war on our soil, we don't have direct experience of it, so there's an openness about the meanings we give it.

Presidents by six years have been there long enough for the media and the country to see their flaws.

It is very difficult for [people] to accept the idea that someone as inconsequential as Oswald could have killed someone as consequential as Kennedy.

The art of diplomacy is finding a reasonable route among imperfect alternatives.

JFK to RFK: To survive in politics, you sometimes have to be willing to make fun of yourself.

Vietnam was a palpable failure. And of course, in retrospect, it was even more clearly a disaster and a failure than maybe people understood at the time.

Public scandals are America's favorite parlor sport. Learning about the flaws and misdeeds of the rich and famous seems to satisfy our egalitarian yearnings.

The irritating question they ask us -- us being writers -- is: "Where do you get your i

When you‟re taught from birth that you don‟t matter in any way, that your wants and even needs are irrelevant, then of course you‟ll struggle to value yourself.

God is not a watchmaker. God is a pimp.

I don’t regret any of the decisions I’ve made in my life. Because with every choice I’ve made, I’ve learned something new.

Damn your principles! Stick to your party.

Of all the exotic aromas and experiences from my sojourn in Ethiopia, it’s the frankincense I miss most.

We're terrible animals. I think that the Earth's immune system is trying to get rid of us, as well it should.

Derek Randall bats like an octopus with piles

Being six feet off the ground does give one a sense of superiority.