Top 33 Quotes & Sayings by Mark Leibovich

Explore popular quotes and sayings by an American journalist Mark Leibovich.

Last updated on April 14, 2025.

Mark Leibovich is an American journalist and author. Currently a staff writer at the The Atlantic, he previously spent a decade as the chief national correspondent for The New York Times Magazine, based in Washington, D.C. He is known for his profiles of political and media figures. He also wrote the Times Magazine's "Your Fellow Americans" column about politics, media, and public life.

American - Journalist | Born: May 9, 1965

Source: Wikipedia

Politicians, in many cases - their moral code will be dictated by what can get them reelected, what they can get away with. When you're out of office, I guess you're freed from those checks and balances.

Mark Leibovich

I like to be read. That's most of what any writer could want.

Mark Leibovich

Washington has become this place that people don't leave. It has become this permanent feudal class.

Mark Leibovich

I always prided myself on being apart from the ruling class. I think it's always important, not just in Washington but in life, to be able to able to balance your sense of belonging with what it's like to be someone who doesn't belong.

Mark Leibovich

I have been a print reporter my whole career. It's all I ever wanted to be. I specialize in political profiles. I have probably profiled hundreds of people over the years, people in very powerful positions. People don't always like what I write, but most people still talk to me.

Mark Leibovich

I think that part of being a good journalist, part of being an awake member of the world you're in, is to view yourself as an outsider, and I always have, to some degree.

Mark Leibovich

But 'This Town' is official Washington. It's political Washington. It's not the Washington that clogs New York Avenue. It's not the Washington that lives in Gaithersburg. It's not the Washington that accounts for most of the population. 'This Town' refers to the people who think they run your country.

Mark Leibovich

The American system is a beautiful and durable thing, but flawed. I would like to think that this decadence is not sustainable, whether in the eyes of the electorate or the eyes of whatever the local economy is built on; that would bring me hope.

Mark Leibovich

I violated, apparently, an unspoken rule that we are supposed to take care of our own. Frankly, if that invites discomfort, I welcome it. I don't think there's enough discomfort in journalism, especially in Washington.

Mark Leibovich

I always keep my repertorial hat on.

Mark Leibovich

I have always been a big meta guy because I think the way journalism is practiced in Washington, and the way everyone sort of cohabitates in the same fishbowl is ultimately a bigger part of the story than people outside of the fishbowl really know.

Mark Leibovich

To cover politics in Washington allows you to live in the very, very wide gap between what the actual truth is, and how people are trying to manipulate the truth. They speak in the language of spin, obsequiousness, obfuscation. The meta of politics is just this endless source of material that can shed light on the psychology of the process.

Mark Leibovich

I don't know if it's because my father's from Argentina, that I'm the son of an immigrant, I don't know if its because I'm Jewish, but I have always been mindful that the best insights occur when you have some kind of an outsider perspective.

Mark Leibovich

Spirituality in Washington can be more of a - I don't want to say it - but, a networking opportunity. Religion is often used opportunistically in the political conversation.

Mark Leibovich

If you can sell yourself as someone who knows how Washington works, someone who has these relationships, that's a very marketable commodity. If you're seen as someone who knows how this town works, someone who is a usual suspect in this town, you can dine out for years - that's why no one leaves.

Mark Leibovich

When you live in Washington, D.C., you do get a sense, in a very direct way, of the durability of our government and really, the greatness of the American system.

Mark Leibovich

I've always tried to walk a line between being incisive and acerbic, but not mean. Sometimes I'm going to tip over the line a little bit, but that's usually a line I try not to cross.

Mark Leibovich

If you look at issues like immigration, gay marriage, gun regulation - these are all things that probably wouldn't be a source of much discussion at all in D.C., if they weren't sources of self-perpetuation.

Mark Leibovich

Washington has always had a pretty healthy amount of self-loathing.

Mark Leibovich

The shaming of Washington, insofar as it is even possible, is a very noble pursuit.

Mark Leibovich

There's something called the 'Washington Read,' which is the habit of many locals to go into a bookstore, pull a book off the shelf, rifle through the index to see if they're in there.

Mark Leibovich

I'm just a journalist. I shine a mirror to the culture. I give the cop-out answer.

Mark Leibovich

I think as long as you're straight with people, as long as you honor ground rules, as long as you serve your readers, you're going to get the door opened for you.

Mark Leibovich

I think one of the dirty little secrets that I try to reveal here is that Washington is not hopelessly divided. It's very interconnected. We're talking about people sort of feeding from the same insider trough, where if you are known as an insider, you are going to get paid and do very, very, very well.

Mark Leibovich

I think that part of being a good journalist, part of being an awake member of the world youre in, is to view yourself as an outsider, and I always have, to some degree.

Mark Leibovich

I've done a lot of tough stories over the years. I've done a lot of profiles over the years that have not always been, shall we say, helpful for the person who is being written about.

Mark Leibovich

I don't think people talk to me because I'm such a good, charming, good-looking guy. I don't - whether that's true or not. I think they do it because I work for a major news organization, and they think that it can probably be helpful to them and their business interests or their personal interest and what have you.

Mark Leibovich

I think the job of a good journalist, especially in Washington, is to create discomfort, and I think for a certain class of people, and for whom life is quite comfortable, I've created discomfort. So I take that as a badge of honor.

Mark Leibovich

Media has changed dramatically, as you and I know. We're in a world now where you're rewarded for being outrageous. Punditry has replaced reporting as the gold standard of journalism.

Mark Leibovich

I violated apparently an unspoken rule that we are supposed to take care of our own. Frankly if that invites discomfort, I welcome it. I don't think there's enough discomfort in journalism, especially in Washington.

Mark Leibovich

I work for a big newspaper, and I guess I'm an insider. I don't have the luxury of calling myself a foreign correspondent and just swooping in and then leaving.

Mark Leibovich

I'm sure people are badmouthing me. I think one of the interesting parts about the criticism has been the tenor of "how dare he." How dare an insider speak critically about other insiders?

Mark Leibovich

The people who are doing really well and who are getting stopped in airports are the people who are going to say the more outrageous things and get on TV and state their opinion on a regular basis.

Mark Leibovich

Top 33 Quotes & Sayings by Mark Leibovich

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