I'm accused of, and perhaps rightly so, of not being mean enough. I've been taken to task in many a book review; a good satirist has to, you know, has to kill.

I love Washington. I have an affection for the place. For a satirist, I think it's sort of Disneyland. I mean, you know, there's always some inspiration in the morning's headlines.

I'm trying to be entertaining without being mean.

Being mean just for being mean's sake isn't funny.

Being mean about other people isn't on my radar.

The needs of the nation are not necessarily convergent with the needs of the deadline satirist.