William Safire Dies at 79

From The Times’s obituary:

Then, from 1973 to 2005, Mr. Safire wrote his twice weekly “Essay” for the Op-Ed Page of The Times, a forceful conservative voice in the liberal chorus. Unlike most Washington columnists who offer judgments with Olympian detachment, Mr. Safire was a pugnacious contrarian who did much of his own reporting, called people liars in print and laced his opinions with outrageous wordplay.

Without question, one of my favorite writers and biggest inspirations. Safire was the columnist’s columnist, a master of the form.

★ Sunday, 27 September 2009