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 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 «

Economics is forever telling us to leave people alone. But in modern democracies an especially poten...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 «

When people say they are going to wipe the slate clean, it's your slate they mean to wipe.

A Conservative is a Liberal who has been mugged.

Politicians are interested in people. Not that this is always a virtue. Fleas are interested in dogs...Show more »

Politicians are interested in people. Not that this is always a virtue. Fleas are interested in dogs. Show less «

[commenting on South Africa's apartheid policy] The world is built on discrimination of the most hor...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 «

Americans did not come to America to be Limey Poofters...

Earnestness is just stupidity sent to college.

On Hillary Clinton: "She's just one of those glossy, nosy, do-gooder types. She's too ambitious to b...Show more »

On Hillary Clinton: "She's just one of those glossy, nosy, do-gooder types. She's too ambitious to be dangerous." Show less «

The weirder you're going to behave, the more normal you should look. It works in reverse, too. When ...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 «

Imagine of all of life were determined by majority rule. Every meal would be a pizza. Every pair of ...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 «

What a complete economic and political mess Britain had got into when Margaret Thatcher took over. T...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 «

I had seen what Saddam Hussein did to Kuwait. I was in favour of the war [in 2003]. But I do remembe...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 «

Peoples who hate each other often seem to be fond of History.

The less we understand the economy, the better it does.

On Barack Obama: "He's a charming and intelligent man, but he was a very ordinary Cook County Democr...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 «

Liberals have invented whole college majors -- psychology, sociology, women's studies -- to prove th...Show more »

Liberals have invented whole college majors -- psychology, sociology, women's studies -- to prove that nothing is anybody's fault. Show less «

There's an American saying: "Anyone can become president". And in the 2016 election we've been tryin...Show more »

There's an American saying: "Anyone can become president". And in the 2016 election we've been trying to prove it. Show less «

No one has ever had a fantasy about being tied to a bed and sexually ravished by someone dressed as ...Show more »

No one has ever had a fantasy about being tied to a bed and sexually ravished by someone dressed as a liberal. Show less «

"Politics is the business of getting power and privilege without possessing merit".

Christmas begins about the first of December with an office party and ends when you finally realize ...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 «

On classic economist Adam Smith: "His importance was not just to economics, it was the connection of...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 «

If it worked, it would not be Government. Young, bright, capable, go-getting people have little need...Show more »

If it worked, it would not be Government. Young, bright, capable, go-getting people have little need of politics. Show less «

P.J. O'Rourke

P.J. O'Rourke's FILMOGRAPHY

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