We are watching industries crumble, Wall Street firms disappear, unemployment spike, and unprecedented government intervention.

And our designated opinion leaders want to know: Is Obama up this week? Is he down? And is his leadership style more like Bill Clinton's, or Abraham Lincoln's?
Thomas Frank

When Governor Romney was out here, I told him, I said, 'we are following the formula of streamlining regulations, being job creating friendly, balancing budgets, cutting taxes, and, you know, using common sense. And if you get to be president, we are going to do more of that.'
John Kasich

In Trinidad, where as new arrivals we were a disadvantaged community, that excluding idea was a kind of protection; it enabled us - for the time being, and only for the time being - to live in our own way and according to our own rules, to live in our own fading India.
V. S. Naipaul

I used to write my books at night when I was a freelancer with no children. I used to really work in huge spurts - I could turn around a revision in two weeks, I used to be able to write 10,000 words a day. It's like, 'Wow, what happened to that?' That's just gone.
Melissa de la Cruz

For me, I have to say that I like to work a lot too, but I like not working better. The perfect scenario is when you just worked and you know something's coming up, then you have four, five, six months off. But you know you're going to have a job later.
Salma Hayek

In Russia I felt for the first time like a full human being. No color prejudice like in Mississippi, no color prejudice like in Washington. It was the first time I felt like a human being.
Paul Robeson

Gemeoss

For me, triathlons were something that was down to me and my fitness. Now, I

really enjoy the pain in the triathlon of chasing someone down. It's a bit like chasing down Nico Rosberg in the last few laps at Silverstone - it makes you feel alive. Jenson Button I have this horrible sense of humor where I think discomfort is funny - partly because I experience discomfort a lot, and it's a way of laughing at it and getting a release. Joaquin Phoenix As long as there are people who are not happy with their lot in life, as long as the United States is perceived to somehow be the cause of this unhappiness, there will be terrorism. Cofer Black I'm just not one of those naturally funny, relaxed actors who enjoy the spotlight and are so good at it. Heath Ledger Be sure of yourself, don't let anyone bully you, be a strong and independent woman or boy. Nicole Polizzi When I started studying tenor saxophone as a kid in Belfast, I did so with a guy named George Cassidy, who was also a big inspiration. Van Morrison We get sucked into the Inte

I have found that what drives me is the desire to prove, to myself and

to my peers, that I can do what I set out to do and build something that matters. Daniel Snyder I put out one album one week, and I'm already worried about the next one. I feel a lot of emotion throughout the course of a day. But not to the point where you need to be worried about me. Taylor Swift At the beginning of each week at 'Saturday Night Live,' we have a full cast meeting where Lorne Michaels introduces the upcoming host. Bill Hader When you're a young talent, and you want to launch your brand, you always have tons of questions: Where should I produce? Should I launch a second line? Should I do shoes, accessories? If you have someone who can coach you and give you advice and help you find the right supplier, it's a big help. Delphine Arnault I don't want to be a slave to nostalgia. Cullen Bunn Due to these various circumstances, when I entered the Catholic University of Louvain in 1934, I had already travelled in a number of European count

Right before I go on stage, I'm absolutely terrified. My mind darts at many directions,

but the center of me is going forward into the performance. Sarah Brightman I think we have responsibilities to be active in the things we believe in, regardless of what our job is. At least in my lifetime, there has been a tremendous combining of activism and music, that came up in the era of Pete Seeger and the Weavers and Joan Baez and Bob Dylan and Peter Paul & Mary. Bonnie Raitt If I were put into a college lecture hall right now and told to pay attention for 45 minutes, it would be physically impossible for me to do. I'm one of those people who believe that ADD is a gift. It's tough to manage, but if you can harness it you can do great things. Jeff Kinney I don't sleep very much. I really like to work, though. I feel like a kid in a candy store. Donnie Wahlberg I've got the best shoe guy in the business. Nate Robinson I don't know the figures, but Hollywood must buy 100 rights for every movie that actually gets made. Bryan Burrough Organi

Victorian feminists made the mistake of making membership of the sisterhood conditional on signing up

to a particular policy agenda. Marxist feminists made a similar mistake of saying, 'You can't be a real feminist unless you join with miners, the unions, the vegans.' Naomi Wolf It's kind of not about the quality of the art, as much as this is what I love doing and I'd have a worse time doing anything else. That's kind of as far as I think in terms of philosophy. Jonny Greenwood Have you heard of this new thing called the internet? It's giving people new expectations. It's allowing them to become their own expert. Knowledge lies anxious at their fingertips. Gloss over the truth in your advertising and you'll quickly be dismissed as a poser. Roy H. Williams Now I'm starting to jog. But every time I do jog I have 9-1 pressed into my phone, with the next '1' ready to be launched in case I drop. Kevin James When I turned 30, I started to feel all those miles. At times, you want to turn the faucet off a bit, but I never want to sto

My background was producing and writing and performing in television when I started out, and

I really missed that, that whole creative process that comes from sort of 'me' storytelling. Eric Bana When I first did 'The Fast and the Furious', I didn't want there to be a sequel on the first one. I thought, 'Why would you rush to do a sequel - just because your first film is successful?' Vin Diesel Put every light you have on a dimmer. Because after a certain age, we can play with the lighting and set it on how you look best on it. It's cheaper than plastic surgery. Bryan Batt I love that there's this tradition of being able to discuss the heaviest topics and the gnarliest stuff that goes down in people's lives in traditional Southern American music. Gillian Welch We repress the things we're scared of, but if we just look at and embrace the things we're scared of, it's a much fuller, richer life that's also not as scary. Gary Ross I was aware that the teaching of drawing was being stopped almost 30 years ago. A

Theatre is about the collective imagination... Everything I use on-stage is driven by the subject

matter and what you might call the text - but that text can be anything, from a fragment of movement or music to something you see on a TV. Simon McBurney I'm active, but I just don't like being hungry or feeling like I've deprived myself. I want to enjoy life. Suki Waterhouse I love a nice cooking show. It's as aesthetically pleasing as any other thing that tempts the senses, I suppose. Janeane Garofalo I wasn't really excited about doing television, to be quite honest. Ramon Rodriguez One thing that is constantly on my iPod is India Arie - I like her a lot; I listen to her a lot. I think she is just a spectacular artist. Audra McDonald It's so funny because the roles that I've been offered in the indie film world have been similar to each other, and the roles that I've been offered in the TV world have been similar to each other, but the TV roles and the indie film roles have been completely different. Courtney Ford Don't get me w

I'm an expert witness in a case that's in appeal about a guy who allegedly

misappropriated source code from a major, major company - he actually worked there and then apparently they found it on his laptop later. Kevin Mitnick To succeed in life in today's world, you must have the will and tenacity to finish the job. Chin-Ning Chu The faster you go, the shorter you are. Albert Einstein I don't consider myself to be that radical a thinker. Steven Pinker I would just love once to be called sexy. Just because it would make me something other than cute. Jennifer Love Hewitt I'm a winner each and every time I go into the ring. George Foreman People always ask me, 'Were you funny as a child?' Well, no, I was an accountant. Ellen DeGeneres

We struggle with the right words to describe the design process at Apple. But it

is very much about designing and prototyping and making. Jonathan Ive It started to weigh on me that I was responsible for the moves that had made me successful, but I wasn't reaping the lion's share of the profits, and that was problematic for me. Frank Ocean I see all four presidential candidates, the leading four, Cruz and Trump and Sanders and Clinton, all oppose TPP. Sherrod Brown Given how unflinching his productions have been, the 44-year-old McQueen is remarkably gentle and thoughtful - so much so that he will request a moment to consider a question, and turn it around in his head to get the shape and weight of it, before answering, occasionally with an excited rush of words in response. Elvis Mitchell Too often, politics is like bad theater. The mass media simplifies stories and personalities into their most basic, digestible and familiar bits. Listeners prefer songs they have heard before, after all. Kevin Hassett I had money, but I still didn't kno

The Soviet government sprouted and grew out of the habits, the psychology, and the condition

of the Russian people. It fitted them. They understand it. Lincoln Steffens The world is not limited by IQ. We are all limited by bravery and creativity. Astro Teller When I was doing poorly at school, my father yanked me out and got me a job in a shoe factory. After three weeks, I begged him to give me another chance at doing well in school. I learned that discipline is necessary to accomplish anything in life. Ivana Trump Electronic music has definitely taken over America. There is more and more interaction with hip hop. Thomas Bangalter I think the power of a grandchild is it taps an instinct that people later in life also have towards... the world of nonprofits or charities. They want to leave a better place. David Eisenhower Work harder than anybody you've ever seen. That's what I believe. Meek Mill I liked 'The Help,' and I love Viola Davis. But I didn't think that film was a great film; I thought that was a very uneven film. I thought the So

After my kids were born I found myself incorporating my photography into different art endeavors

and from there it just blossomed. I have always had to have an outlet for my creativity and when my life became more about raising my family than the bright lights of show business exploring my photo art was a great outlet for me. Angela Cartwright Those who have happy homes seldom turn out badly. Daniel H. Hill A man does not know what he is saying until he knows what he is not saying. Gilbert K. Chesterton When one must, one can. Charlotte Whitton Whatever words we utter should be chosen with care for people will hear them and be influenced by them for good or ill. Buddha I mean being a writer is like being a psychoanalyst, but you don't get any patients. Al Alvarez Most of my mail comes from young people. Richard Wilson The use of methamphetamines has become pervasive in our country, and especially in rural areas. Collin C. Peterson I have made as much out of myself as could be made of the stuff, and no man should require more. Jean Paul