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Knowing how things work is the basis for appreciation, and is thus a source of civilized delight.

William Safire

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William Safire
Age: 79 †
Born: 1929
Born: December 17
Died: 2009
Died: September 27
Author
Columnist
Journalist
Writer
New York City
New York
William Lewis Safire
Knowing
Civilized
Work
Appreciation
Things
Basis
Bases
Delight
Thus
Gratitude
Source

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This is what it's all about. From what I could see, you could get a bunch of people together, whip up the press and have some impact.
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Sir Alec Douglas-Home, when he was British Foreign Secretary, said he received the following telegram from an irate citizen: To hell with you. Offensive letter follows.
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When articulation is impossible, gesticulation comes to the rescue.
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I'm willing to zap conservatives when they do things that are not libertarian.
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[Senators John Kerry & John Edwards] have risen high in Democratic polls with a brand of class resentment and soak-the-rich rhetoric rooted in the old-fashioned liberalism of Ted Kennedy.
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The right to do something does not mean that doing it is right.
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Have a definite opinion.
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To be accused of 'channeling' is to be dismissed as a ventriloquist's live dummy, derogated at not having a mind of one's own.
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The CEO era gave rise to the CFO (not certified flying object, as you might imagine, but chief financial officer) and, most recently, the CIO, chief investment officer, a nice boost for the bookkeeper you can't afford to give a raise . . .
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If America cannot win a war in a week, it begins negotiating with itself.
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The most successful column is one that causes the reader to throw down the paper in a peak of fit.
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The tension between the governed and the governing is what makes the world go 'round. It's not love, it's that tension, because that tension exists in love affairs. The whole idea of control is at the heart of human relationships. Control and resistance to control.
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Last, but not least, avoid cliches like the plague.
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When I need to know the meaning of a word, I look it up in a dictionary.
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Never put the story in the lead. Let 'em have a hot shot of ambiguity right between the eyes.
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When duty calls, that is when character counts.
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Cast aside any column about two subjects. It means the pundit chickened out on the hard decision about what to write about that day.
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Never look for the story in the 'lede.' Reporters are required to put what's happened up top, but the practiced pundit places a nugget of news, even a startling insight, halfway down the column, directed at the politiscenti. When pressed for time, the savvy reader starts there.
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By elevating your reading, you will improve your writing or at least tickle your thinking.
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I'm a right-wing pundit and have been for many years.
William Safire