The last word for newsman Safire - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

LUVMBDiesels · #1 09-28-2009, 07:58 AM

AP
Last Updated: 7:11 AM, September 28, 2009
Posted: 4:33 AM, September 28, 2009
William Safire, the conservative columnist and word warrior who feared no politician or corner of the English language, is dead at age 79.

The Pulitzer Prize winner died yesterday in Maryland, his assistant, Rosemary Shields, said. He had been diagnosed with cancer.

Safire spent more than 30 years writing for the Op-Ed page of The New York Times. In his "On Language" column and numerous books, Safire also traced the origins of words and phrases such as "straw man," "under the bus" and "the proof is in the pudding."

He penned more than 3,000 columns, aggressively defending civil liberties and Israel while tangling with political figures. Bill Clinton famously wanted to punch the columnist in the nose after Safire called his wife, Hillary, "a congenital liar."

As a speechwriter in the Nixon White House, Safire penned Vice President Spiro Agnew's famous phrase, "nattering nabobs of negativism," a tongue-in-cheek alliteration that Safire claimed was directed not at the press but at Vietnam defeatists.

Along with George Will and William F. Buckley Jr., Safire helped make conservatism respectable in the 1970s, paving the way for the Reagan Revolution.

William Safire, the conservative columnist and word warrior who feared no politician or corner of the English language, is dead at age 79.
The Pulitzer Prize winner died yesterday in Maryland, his assistant, Rosemary Shields, said. He had been diagnosed with cancer.
Safire spent more than 30 years writing for the Op-Ed page of The New York Times. In his "On Language" column and numerous books, Safire also traced the origins of words and phrases such as "straw man," "under the bus" and "the proof is in the pudding."
He penned more than 3,000 columns, aggressively defending civil liberties and Israel while tangling with political figures. Bill Clinton famously wanted to punch the columnist in the nose after Safire called his wife, Hillary, "a congenital liar."

SAFIRE Dies at age 79.

As a speechwriter in the Nixon White House, Safire penned Vice President Spiro Agnew's famous phrase, "nattering nabobs of negativism," a tongue-in-cheek alliteration that Safire claimed was directed not at the press but at Vietnam defeatists.
Along with George Will and William F. Buckley Jr., Safire helped make conservatism respectable in the 1970s, paving the way for the Reagan Revolution.

dynalow · #2 09-28-2009, 09:46 AM

RIP Bill.

And she is/was a congenital liar.

t walgamuth · #3 09-28-2009, 07:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dynalow

RIP Bill.

And she is/was a congenital liar.

I disagree that she is a liar but I will freely admit she is an attorney. As a profession attorneys have a whole different view of truth and lie in my experience.

t walgamuth · #4 09-28-2009, 10:16 PM

Though I did not agree with Safire's political views, he was an excellent author when he set his mind to it. He wrote an excellent historical novel, it is named Freedom. It surrounds the freeing of the slaves here in the us. Very very well written.

aklim · #5 09-28-2009, 11:00 PM

Read a couple of his articles eons ago but decided it wasn't worth the effort. Guess we can say about him "Stick a fork in him. He's done.". Or if he is cremated, as the Corning Ware jingle goes "From the freezer, to the oven, to the table".