Quote of the Day

From a letter to Eric Alterman:

treasure those mornings on which I can feel like I'm on mushrooms while not having to go to the considerable time, the even more considerable expense, and the extremely considerable legal risk of actually BEING on mushrooms. Yesterday was one of those mornings. First, there was Tim Russert, for about the 37th consecutive week, convening a panel to pretend that he's confused about the basis for an investigation in which he has already given testimony. Has there ever been a performance like this on national television? Tim Russert, on NBC, playing the role of Tim Russert, while the actual Tim Russert is back in the green room, hanging in the chiffarobe and talking to his lawyers. This would have driven poor Derrida to abandon the life of the mind and take a job serving clam rolls on Cape Cod.