Newspaper people, once celebrated as founts of ribald humor and uncouth fun, have of late lost all their gaiety, and small wonder. Russell Baker on humor
Roosevelt's declaration that Americans had 'nothing to fear but fear itself' was a glorious piece of inspirational rhetoric and just as gloriously wrong. Russell Baker on inspirational
Ah, summer, what power you have to make us suffer and like it. Russell Baker on nature
Don't try to make children grow up to be like you, or they may do it. Russell Baker on parenting
I gave up on new poetry myself 30 years ago when most of it began to read like coded messages passing between lonely aliens in a hostile world. Russell Baker on poetry
Poetry is so vital to us until school spoils it. Russell Baker on poetry
Anticipating that most poetry will be worse than carrying heavy luggage through O'Hare Airport, the public, to its loss, reads very little of it. Russell Baker on poetry
Reporters thrive on the world's misfortune. For this reason they often take an indecent pleasure in events that dismay the rest of humanity. Russell Baker on politics
Except for politics, no business is scrutinized more exhaustively than journalism. Russell Baker on politics
Ah, summer, what power you have to make us suffer and like it. Russell Baker on power
Inanimate objects can be classified scientifically into three major categories those that don't work, those that break down and those that get lost. Russell Baker on science
You can always tell folks from nonfolks. Folks like to feel good, like to smile for the camera when there's a big photo opportunity for a really good cause. Russell Baker on smile
Usually, terrible things that are done with the excuse that progress requires them are not really progress at all, but just terrible things. Russell Baker on society
Those who remember Washington's cold war culture in the 1980s will recall the shocked reactions to Reagan's intervention. People interested in foreign policy were astonished when in 1985 he met alone at Geneva - alone, not a single strategic thinker at his elbow! - with the Soviet Communist master Gorbachev. Russell Baker on war
Strategic thinkers were naturally rattled to find this outsider fooling around with their work. They had been thinking strategically when Reagan was just another movie actor playing opposite a chimpanzee, for heaven's sake. They think Reagan is too naive, too innocent, to grasp the intellectual complexities of cold war strategy. Russell Baker on war
Americans like fat books and thin women. Russell Baker on women
The dirty work at political conventions is almost always done in the grim hours between midnight and dawn. Hangmen and politicians work best when the human spirit is at its lowest ebb. Russell Baker on politics