Edwin Newman

“Language is in decline. Not only has eloquence departed but simple, direct speech as well.”

“Most of us would be appalled if our fantasies were known.”

“The problem with the American health care system is not that it is not good. The problem is that it is not a system.”

“'Interface' is a trendy, empty, and irritating word.”

“Will you be a little more specific?”

“It is an old and ironic habit of human beings to run faster when we have lost our way.”

“What is a television news personality? A news personality is a person who whatever the news, finds a way to make it a reflection of himself.”

“If it is true that there is no greater sorrow than to remember a happy time in a state of misery, it is just as true that there is no greater joy than to remember a miserable time in a state of happiness.”

“The two-party system is a very good thing, but it is a luxury. We must have it when we can afford it.”

“We seem to be a long way from the ideal of a well-informed citizenry.”

“There is a Gresham's law of culture as well as of money.”

“One of the sovereign remedies for any malady is to find a name for it.”

“Fashions in language are as arbitrary and foolish as fashions in clothes.”

“Clarity is a duty. The charge has been made that I am a purist. I am not. I am a stickler for clarity.”

“I can't remember any president who has been such a mismatch for his time as Carter.”

“Americans are not given to being lithe and sinewy, and for the most part, we are not a handsome people.”