It seems to me that more and more we've come to expect less and less from each other, and I think that should change.

I think people who have faults are a lot more interesting than people who are perfect.

Power is knowing your past.

Only criminals and adulterers should have to hide who they are.

Decisions are made by those who show up. Don't ever forget that you're a citizen of this world.

If you feel that strongly about something, you have an obligation to try and change my mind.

I'm terribly afraid of failure. When your identity is wrapped up in writing and you've written something that doesn't work, it's a tough pill to swallow.

To use a basketball metaphor, West Wing cast was a group that liked to pass as much as they liked to shoot.

Any time you get two people in a room who disagree about anything, the time of day, there is a scene to be written. That's what I look for.

The first step in solving any problem is recognizing there is one - America is not the greatest country in the world anymore.

There are no Asian movie stars

We live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with guns.

People who don't know anything tend to make up fake rules, the real rules being considerably more difficult to learn.

Roxy Sorkin, your father just won the Academy Award. I'm going to have to insist on some respect from your guinea pig.

Writers are opposite of athletes, they get better with age

My resting pulse as a writer is writing idealistically and romantically; aspirationally. My taste lies in quixotic heroes.

I'm a registered Republican, I only seem liberal because I believe that hurricanes are caused by high barometric pressure and not gay marriage.

It's nice that HBO is in business with the audience and not with the advertisers. There's a difference.

I'm not interested in the difference between good and bad, I'm interested in the differences between good and great.