McCarthyism and Trumpism are very different. They stand for very different things, but the technique of the big lie, smearing and telling lies, you know, McCarthy was doing that. At the time, the media, Democrats, and Republicans were all paralyzed - not all, but most of them were paralyzed. They didn't know how to deal with this.

Professionally and personally, I try to be as agnostic as possible, try to see things as objectively as possible.

I did freelance cartooning off and on from college graduation in 1991 through ABC News hiring me in 2003. I did a weekly comic strip for 'Roll Call' for about nine years. I sold cartoons and caricatures to 'The Los Angeles Times' and 'The Washington Post.' I drew as much as I could. It's really tough to make a living doing it.

Politicians lie.

I'm quite calm when all is well.

Actors are tough because they're not used to challenging questions - other than from paparazzi. And so you just ask one perfectly legitimate question, but one that they're not comfortable answering, and all of a sudden they look at you, and you're the paparazzi.

We often think our legacy will be our achievements. But often our legacy will be whether we set a moral standard.

It's not always easy for a mainstream organization to accept what a blog is.

Probably like a lot of people, my personal politics are all over the map.

I lost a great uncle in World War II who was with the Royal Canadian Air Force.

I get a lot of heat from the Left, which is bizarre. I get a lot of heat from the Right, too, but the vitriol is from the Left.

When you write fiction, there were things about Washington that I've experienced and wanted to write about, including the swamping nature of it, the compromises people come to town and are forced to make, and also, when writing about Joe McCarthy, the indecency and lies that he put forward that people didn't take a stand about.

My job, in general, is nonfiction, so writing fiction was liberating. If you can't find the answer to something, you just make it up!

It took me years to realize I wanted to be in journalism.

Everybody should work in their nation's capitol and see how politics actually work because it was the most eye opening experience of my life.

My mom is a nurse; my dad is a pediatrician. They were born in the 1940s, and they were both inspired to fight against injustice, whether it was the injustices of the Vietnam War or Watergate or children in poverty or oppression of African Americans in Philadelphia where I was growing up.

Embrace the humanity of everyone, especially those you don't understand.

If the Trump White House and their allies in the media want to have this conversation about decency, I welcome them to the table to talk about it. But there's a bunch of stuff that they need to get caught up on before we get to a comedian at the White House dinner.

I certainly don't think that it's the job of any journalist to make the presidency work.

My mom is a hero in a lot of ways because she's the most empathetic and kind person I've ever met.

We've gone through many different permutations of coffee-making, from grinding our own beans to the regular drip to an iced coffee maker.

CNN wants me to tell the news in a way that seems genuine and authentic. They don't want me to be Ron Burgundy.

I don't really get nervous anymore unless there's a big interview.

I've conditioned myself to believe that almonds are a completely delicious snack, and that they don't taste like paper or get stuck in the back of my mouth.