# William Safire has died **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 27, 2009, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/william-safire-has-died/511762 "2009-09-27T18:24:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2009, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/william-safire-has-died/511762/1 "2009-09-27T18:24:58Z")
The NY Times is syaing that William Safire has died at age 79, but there is no story up yet. ETA: Story is up now: [http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/28/us/28safire.html?\_r=1&hp](http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/28/us/28safire.html?_r=1&hp) ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2009, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/william-safire-has-died/511762/2 "2009-09-27T18:34:00Z")
Shit!!! I had him on my Death Pool list the last two years, but apparently took him off. ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2009, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/william-safire-has-died/511762/3 "2009-09-27T19:48:52Z")
Aw, man. ☹ He was the one Time editorialist I liked. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2009, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/william-safire-has-died/511762/4 "2009-09-27T20:04:37Z")
From the obit: > [@](#): > > Years later, Mr. Safire called Hillary Clinton a “congenital liar” in print. Mrs. Clinton said she was offended only for her mother’s sake. But a White House aide said that Bill Clinton, “if he were not president, would have delivered a more forceful response on the bridge of Mr. Safire’s nose.” > > Mr. Safire was delighted, especially with the proper use of the conditional. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2009, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/william-safire-has-died/511762/5 "2009-09-27T20:27:23Z")
I shall eat a pair of Whoppers Junior in his memory. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2009, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/william-safire-has-died/511762/6 "2009-09-27T20:27:47Z")
Safire was the reason I stopped reading the op-ed page of the local fish wrapper. He cited (again) the meeting between hijacker Atta and Iraqi intelligence in Prague, [long](http://www.commondreams.org/headlines02/0501-05.htm) after it had been debunked. No retraction, no dispute, nothing in the paper itself pointing out that it was a well known lie. I don’t understand how so many people can get away with so much nonsense for so many years. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2009, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/william-safire-has-died/511762/7 "2009-09-27T20:51:52Z")
A shame. Every sunday, growing up, I’d dive into the NYTimes Magazine first, to read what he had to say that week. I may not have always agreed with him, but man, was he educational. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2009, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/william-safire-has-died/511762/8 "2009-09-27T21:52:56Z")
> [@E-Sabbath](#): > > A shame. Every sunday, growing up, I’d dive into the NYTimes Magazine first, to read what he had to say that week. I may not have always agreed with him, but man, was he educational. I disagree. First place his columns generally used examples that that put liberals in a bad light or conservatives in a good one. A language and usage column should be not be used to make partisan points. Second, when he did usage columns he was often plainly wrong. I don’t have examples offhand, unfortunately. ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2009, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/william-safire-has-died/511762/9 "2009-09-27T22:28:18Z")
I enjoyed his political dictionary. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2009, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/william-safire-has-died/511762/10 "2009-09-27T22:28:24Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > I shall eat a pair of Whoppers Junior in his memory. How about a couple of Big Beef Burritos Supreme? ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/william-safire-has-died/511762/11 "2009-09-28T02:32:56Z")
William Safire, in addition to his other accomplishments, probably wrote the best novel about Abraham Lincoln I’ve read. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/william-safire-has-died/511762/12 "2009-09-28T04:42:48Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > I disagree. First place his columns generally used examples that that put liberals in a bad light or conservatives in a good one. A language and usage column should be not be used to make partisan points. Second, when he did usage columns he was often plainly wrong. I don’t have examples offhand, unfortunately. … You misunderstand what I said about educational. Nothing is better than a good fight, or a good disagreement. Makes you think about what you think about things. He was wrong, biased, or improperly correct many, many times. But by god, he wrote persuasively and well, and he gave me a taste for going ‘Huh. No, that’s _not_ right. I disagree here. Okay, why?’ ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 9:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/william-safire-has-died/511762/13 "2009-09-28T09:07:09Z")
**koeeoaddi** , thanks for the link to the Safire column on independent bookstores. I don’t know how I managed to forget that the Rushdie book went unsupported by so many chains such as Waldenbooks. Very good to be reminded. I’m glad that people like you catch these things and keep them. I think I miss a lot by not being a regular NYT reader. Safire has been one of them. ---
**Author:** ![Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sophistry_and_Illusion)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/william-safire-has-died/511762/14 "2009-09-28T09:26:01Z")
Safire used to piss me off mightily, but what I regret about his passing is that he is one of the last of the conservative opinion-makers who respected erudition (like Buckley, Will, etc.). The current conservative commentators wear their ignorance like a badge of honor. Can you really see any of the current crop (Beck, Limbaugh, etc.) writing a column like “On Language”? ---
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2009, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/william-safire-has-died/511762/15 "2009-09-28T17:37:35Z")
[nationalreview.com](http://nationalreview.com) normally has a few posts when a conservative luminary dies, but as far as I can tell they have nothing about Safire. Any reason why he might have been considered a _persona non grata_?