Monday, January 24, 2005
Exit Safire
As duly noted on these virtual pages earlier, William Safire was to end his 31-year run as NYT op-ed columnist this month. He has just done so, and today's NYT features a final quartet of Safire columns: one explaining his decision to stop, a second reflecting on (dis)agreements between his opinions and the actual turn of events, a third reminding his unworthy readers (yet again) just how chummy he has been with a generation of power-wielders, and a fourth being the prescriptivist he always has been as he teaches you how to read an op-ed column.
Prescriptivist or not, the latter column is a very entertaining read and reminds you that the man can laugh a bit at himself.
It appears that Reuben was spot on when he speculated (in a private email, before Safire announced his plan to quit) that David Brooks has been brought in as a replacement.
Prescriptivist or not, the latter column is a very entertaining read and reminds you that the man can laugh a bit at himself.
It appears that Reuben was spot on when he speculated (in a private email, before Safire announced his plan to quit) that David Brooks has been brought in as a replacement.
