“Of all recent presidents, Clinton was expected to behave the most sensibly in economic matters. He understood how the economy works. But because he had used various dodges to stay out of the Vietnam War, he came to office ill at ease with the military.”

I remember the Bond movies when I was a child. They were silent then.

As for civil liberties, any one who is not vigilant may one day find himself living, if not in a police state, at least in a police city.

What is in question is a kind of book reviewing which seems to be more and more popular: the loose putting down of opinions as though they were facts, and the treating of facts as though they were opinions.

Television is now so desperately hungry for material that they’re scraping the top of the barrel.

Every country should have at least one King Farouk.

Americans, in general, are ignorant, bigoted, and deeply unhappy with their declining incomes.

There’s a lot to be said for being nouveau riche, and the Reagans mean to say it all.

It is essential to naturalist doctrine that literature, to be good, must, finally, be the author’s experience worked out literally.

I think I have a normal threshold of anger, but it’s true that I am, by nature, belligerent.

The United States is a madhouse.

To a man, ornithologists are tall, slender, and bearded so that they can stand motionless for hours, imitating kindly trees, as they watch for birds.

We must declare ourselves, become known; allow the world to discover this subterranean life of ours which connects kings and farm boys, artists and clerks. Let them see that the important thing is not the object of love, but the emotion itself.

There is something about a bureaucrat that does not like a poem.

I can understand companionship.

I never wanted to be a writer. I mean, that’s the last thing I wanted.

I am a novelist turned temporary adventurer, and I chose to write television, movies and plays for much the same reason that Henry Morgan selected the Spanish Main for his peculiar – and not dissimilar – sphere of operations.

I wasn’t ever advised by Scott Sullivan of anything ever being wrong.

I was a pretty good coach and working with marketing was like coaching.

I have some assets that over time will be worth something. I’ve been in the process of selling others.

We were a fast-growing company, and I was a demanding boss.

I didn’t have anything to apologize for.

Although low inflation is generally good, inflation that is too low can pose risks to the economy – especially when the economy is struggling.

The financial crisis appears to be mostly behind us, and the economy seems to have stabilized and is expanding again.

We do not expect significant spillovers from the subprime market to the rest of the economy or to the financial system.