"Living in New York is like being at some terrible late-night party. You're tired, you've had a headache since you arrived, but you can't leave because then you'd miss the party."

"The formal Washington dinner party has all the spontaneity of a Japanese imperial funeral."

"She is the first head of government in history to give a whole country its second childhood."

"In Washington, success is just a training course for failure."

"Americans are fascinated by their own love of shopping. This does not make them unique. It's just that they have more to buy than most other people on the planet. And it's also an affirmation of faith in their country."