Career suicide is not so bad when you consider the alternative is suicide by career.

Our system is rotten. It doesn’t reward honest politicians, who vote with their conscience. It rewards rats who are willing to sell out their country to keep their noses in the trough. Make no mistake. These rats are the real parasites on American democracy.

There’s no better way to butter up a parent than to tell him how hot his kids are.

Lobbying is about foresight. About anticipating your opponent’s moves and devising countermeasures. The winner plots one step ahead of the opposition, and plays her trump card just after they play theirs. It’s about making sure you surprise them, and they don’t surprise you.

Sometimes we act, not for ourselves, but because we believe plainly and simply it is the right thing to do.