I'm so pathetically eager for people to love D.C. It's so sad. It's like I work for the chamber of commerce or something.

Intelligence is not a moral category.

The two things I was positive about in life were that I was going to be a teacher at a boarding school or an operative with the CIA posted abroad. I could write a book about all the things I was sure about.

I have no way of knowing how people really feel, but the vast majority of those I meet couldn't be nicer. Every once in a while someone barks at me. My New Year's resolution is not to bark back.

Living in Washington, you can't take politics too seriously. I draw the line at honesty. I have no time for political hacks who say things they don't believe because they get paid to.

The tax code is becoming steadily more progressive, which shouldn't surprise anyone who understands power politics. It's always easier to force sacrifice on an unpopular minority than it is to ask the majority to pony up.