Media has changed dramatically, as you and I know. We're in a world now where you're rewarded for being outrageous. Punditry has replaced reporting as the gold standard of journalism.

I think as long as you're straight with people, as long as you honor ground rules, as long as you serve your readers, you're going to get the door opened for you.

I'm sure people are badmouthing me. I think one of the interesting parts about the criticism has been the tenor of "how dare he." How dare an insider speak critically about other insiders?

I always keep my repertorial hat on.

Spirituality in Washington can be more of a - I don't want to say it - but, a networking opportunity. Religion is often used opportunistically in the political conversation.

I think that part of being a good journalist, part of being an awake member of the world youre in, is to view yourself as an outsider, and I always have, to some degree.

Washington has always had a pretty healthy amount of self-loathing.

I'm just a journalist. I shine a mirror to the culture. I give the cop-out answer.

The shaming of Washington, insofar as it is even possible, is a very noble pursuit.

I've done a lot of tough stories over the years. I've done a lot of profiles over the years that have not always been, shall we say, helpful for the person who is being written about.

I work for a big newspaper, and I guess I'm an insider. I don't have the luxury of calling myself a foreign correspondent and just swooping in and then leaving.

Embrace the fundamentals like the closest of friends, for they will be the foundation of your future success.

In its proper role, a number counts the missing words.

I like playing around with the words

So everything lets us down, including curiosity and honesty and what we love best. Yes, said the voice, but cheer up, it's fun in the end.

I am a nationalist, and a Pan-Africanist, first and foremost. I was well grounded in history before ever taking a history course. I did not spend much formal time in school - I had to work.

We are now cruising at a level of two to the power of twenty-five thousand to one against and falling, and we will be restoring normality just as soon as we are sure what is normal anyway.

Everything in our foreign and domestic policy is a question of issue for the American people to vote on.

A book is a version of the world. If you do not like it, ignore it; or offer your own version in return.

Writing or making anything-a poem, a bird feeder, a chocolate cake-has self-respect in it. You're working. You're trying. You're not lying down on the ground, having given up.

Above all, be at ease, be as natural and spacious as possible. Slip quietly out of the noose of your habitual anxious self, release all grasping, and relax into your true nature.