“Friends are very understanding when you tell them in April that you can see them next September, but there is a limit to how long you can go on like that.”

“Political reporters no longer get to decide what's news. The days when a minister gave briefings to a dozen lobby correspondents, and thereby dictated the next day's headlines, are over. Now, a thousand bloggers decide for themselves what is interesting. If enough of them are tickled then, bingo, yo”