P.J. O'Rourke
Birthday:
14 November 1947, Toledo, Ohio, USA
Birth Name:
Patrick Jake O'Rourke
P.J. O'Rourke attended Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, where he graduated in 1969, and received an M.A. from the Johns Hopkins University where he was a Woodrow Wilson fellow. After college, he discovered that he had no job prospects, so he decided to become a writer. He was editor in chief of the National Lampoon from 1978 to 1981, where he...
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P.J. O'Rourke attended Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, where he graduated in 1969, and received an M.A. from the Johns Hopkins University where he was a Woodrow Wilson fellow. After college, he discovered that he had no job prospects, so he decided to become a writer. He was editor in chief of the National Lampoon from 1978 to 1981, where he was responsible for the infamous "Yearbook" parody. He has been the international affairs correspondent for Rolling Stone magazine since 1986. He is the author of nine books, four of which have been New York Times best sellers: Parliament of Whores, Give War a Chance, All the Trouble in the World, and Eat the Rich. He has one daughter, Elizabeth, with his second wife, Tina. Show less «
The weirder you're going to behave, the more normal you should look. It works in reverse, too. When I see a kid with three or four rings in ...Show more »
The weirder you're going to behave, the more normal you should look. It works in reverse, too. When I see a kid with three or four rings in his nose, I know there is absolutely nothing extraordinary about that person. Show less «
Christmas begins about the first of December with an office party and ends when you finally realize what you spent, around April fifteenth o...Show more »
Christmas begins about the first of December with an office party and ends when you finally realize what you spent, around April fifteenth of the next year. Show less «
Politicians are interested in people. Not that this is always a virtue. Fleas are interested in dogs.
Politicians are interested in people. Not that this is always a virtue. Fleas are interested in dogs.
A Conservative is a Liberal who has been mugged.
A Conservative is a Liberal who has been mugged.
[commenting on South Africa's apartheid policy] The world is built on discrimination of the most horrible kind. The problem with South Afric...Show more »
[commenting on South Africa's apartheid policy] The world is built on discrimination of the most horrible kind. The problem with South Africans is they admit it. Show less «
On classic economist Adam Smith: "His importance was not just to economics, it was the connection of morality to economics. That was his tru...Show more »
On classic economist Adam Smith: "His importance was not just to economics, it was the connection of morality to economics. That was his true genius." Show less «
"Politics is the business of getting power and privilege without possessing merit".
"Politics is the business of getting power and privilege without possessing merit".
The less we understand the economy, the better it does.
The less we understand the economy, the better it does.
Economics is forever telling us to leave people alone. But in modern democracies an especially potent way to acquire power is to increase re...Show more »
Economics is forever telling us to leave people alone. But in modern democracies an especially potent way to acquire power is to increase regulation of all kinds. Show less «
I had seen what Saddam Hussein did to Kuwait. I was in favour of the war [in 2003]. But I do remember saying to a friend of mine, 'Don't you...Show more »
I had seen what Saddam Hussein did to Kuwait. I was in favour of the war [in 2003]. But I do remember saying to a friend of mine, 'Don't you think this is all being thought out by people who are smarter than we are?' Apparently it wasn't. Show less «
On Hillary Clinton: "She's just one of those glossy, nosy, do-gooder types. She's too ambitious to be dangerous."
On Hillary Clinton: "She's just one of those glossy, nosy, do-gooder types. She's too ambitious to be dangerous."
On Barack Obama: "He's a charming and intelligent man, but he was a very ordinary Cook County Democratic machine politician. It was not a ve...Show more »
On Barack Obama: "He's a charming and intelligent man, but he was a very ordinary Cook County Democratic machine politician. It was not a very pretty bunch." Show less «
What a complete economic and political mess Britain had got into when Margaret Thatcher took over. The whole country needed a good spanking....Show more »
What a complete economic and political mess Britain had got into when Margaret Thatcher took over. The whole country needed a good spanking. Thatcher was good for Britain not because she was that good herself, but because Britain had got so bad. New York was the same god-damned mess before Rudy Giuliani became mayor. But not all problems can be solved by being tough. As we have seen in Iraq. Show less «
Liberals have invented whole college majors -- psychology, sociology, women's studies -- to prove that nothing is anybody's fault.
Liberals have invented whole college majors -- psychology, sociology, women's studies -- to prove that nothing is anybody's fault.
No one has ever had a fantasy about being tied to a bed and sexually ravished by someone dressed as a liberal.
No one has ever had a fantasy about being tied to a bed and sexually ravished by someone dressed as a liberal.
Earnestness is just stupidity sent to college.
Earnestness is just stupidity sent to college.
When people say they are going to wipe the slate clean, it's your slate they mean to wipe.
When people say they are going to wipe the slate clean, it's your slate they mean to wipe.
Imagine of all of life were determined by majority rule. Every meal would be a pizza. Every pair of pants, even those in a Brooks Brothers s...Show more »
Imagine of all of life were determined by majority rule. Every meal would be a pizza. Every pair of pants, even those in a Brooks Brothers suit, would be stonewashed denim. Celebrity diet and exercise books would be the only thing on library shelves. And - since women are a majority of the population - we'd all be married to Mel Gibson. Show less «
There's an American saying: "Anyone can become president". And in the 2016 election we've been trying to prove it.
There's an American saying: "Anyone can become president". And in the 2016 election we've been trying to prove it.
If it worked, it would not be Government. Young, bright, capable, go-getting people have little need of politics.
If it worked, it would not be Government. Young, bright, capable, go-getting people have little need of politics.
Americans did not come to America to be Limey Poofters...
Americans did not come to America to be Limey Poofters...
Peoples who hate each other often seem to be fond of History.
Peoples who hate each other often seem to be fond of History.
