Quotes from Richard Ben Cramer

Of course, that made the papers, too. Well, what of it? ... He didn't say the guy's name! ... Gaghhd! Come on! What had the guy ever done—that hadn't been handed to him? ... Dole never could figure what they saw in George Bush.

And there'd be no point: Why would he give his life over to this, if it were not for the notion that he could do something great?

There've been more campaigns sunk by people who feel they've gotta write a memo ... so when you put anything on paper, just assume it's gonna be on the front page the next day. If it can't be—don't write it.

And, together, we can make America great, and strong again.

They showed him in a thousand ways they wanted to make him part of their club, but ... what was their club for? That was half the problem: they were trying to be so nice. Teddy Kennedy sent a shrink up to Wilmington, for the boys ... Kennedys knew about loss.

We're still in the ditch, and the Gennifer Flowers story about Bill Clinton says it all. A tabloid fired several bullets into the air, and the rest of the herd began to stampede.

After the presidency, there's nowhere else to go in politics.

When there are fewer and fewer publishers of scale, it's just not good for authors.

Few men try for best ever, and Ted Williams is one of those.

The first time I met Alex Rodriguez, he was in the fight of his life. He was the guy who was supposed to have everything - good looks, good health, good habits - all the talent in the world and most of the money.

I was with the mujaheddin, the rebels, and they were fighting against the Russians, and they would bring me along. Some of the adventures, when I look back at them now, it's a wonder I'm still around.

DiMaggio was never a rube. He was very smart and very urban. Coming out of the Great Depression, he was the immigrant boy who made it big. Coming back from World War II, he had all the wealth and power that New York aspired to. When New York saw itself as the center of the world, he was its paragon of class.

Even if you had the wherewithal to embarrass a reporter, there was no mechanism to do it. And in most cases, you might as well save your breath because the reporter had no shame anyway.

If you're following candidates in a campaign, you get on their plane, and what they're generally doing is they're dividing the cost of that charter flight by the number of reporters they're carrying aboard. In effect, the press is buying them that campaign flight.

TV is set up to be just a shout fest: Is this good for Republicans or bad for Republicans; is this good for Cain or bad for Cain... tell me something that I need to know.

It's not fit work for an adult just dragging idols off the shelf. It's too easy.

I had every stress-related illness you can get.

Don't be the schmuck on the other side of the table. Don't get an interview with the guy. Be in the room with him while he's being interviewed by someone else.

We strove for more than 60 years to give Joe DiMaggio the hero's life. From his debut at Yankee Stadium in 1936 until his death in 1999, DiMaggio was, at every turn, one man we could look at who made us feel good.

There is not often much policy discussion with the Bushes. There isn't much introspection. Several generations of Bush men could pass by in which the great questions of humankind will go undiscussed.

At some point... Israel ground away, or gave away, her birthright of loyalty from the West.

The whole point of Israel was to create a place where Jews could live the best life - and liveliest - in accordance with their values.

He's made a business out of being Joe DiMaggio. To remain Joe DiMaggio, you better not have too much known. He's right. The closer you get, the more explosively bad stuff you find.

When you're working on a project that's going to take six years, you're weird from the jump.