William Safire, Political Columnist and Pulitzer Prize Winner Dies at 79

William Safire, a political columnist, a Pulitzer Prize winner and the Oracle of Language, died Sunday at age 79 of pancreatic cancer in a hospice at Rockville, Maryland. He was born on December 17, 1929 in New York City. He was the youngest of three sons of Oliver C. and Ida Panish Safire. He graduated from Bronx High School of science and attended Syracuse University. He quit in his second year in 1949 to take a job with Tex McCrary, columnist from New York Herald Tribune, who hosted radio and televison shows. Safire was correspondent for WNBC-TV in Europe and the Middle East. He jumped into politics in 1952 by organizing an Eisenhower-for-President rally at Madison Square Garden. He was in the U.S. Army from 1952-54. Safire started a public relations firm in 1961. He sold that firm in 1968 to become a special assistant to President Richard Nixon. He joined the White House speechwriting team that included such men as Patrick J. Buchanan and Raymond K. Price Jr. In 1973, he became a columnist for the New York Times.

Safire wrote novels and books on politics and a Malaprops treasury of articles on language. According to the New York Times, he had his own unambiguous wit and wisdom on one hand and on the other hand, the blubber of fools he called "nattering nabobs of negativism" and "hopeless hysterical hypochondriacs of history." He was a master of language. He wrote four novels such as "Full Disclosure" (Doubleday, 1977). It was a bestseller about successor issues after a president is blinded in an assassination attempt. He wrote another one entitled, "The New Language of Politics" (Random House 1968), "Before the Fall" (Doubleday, 1975). It was a memoir of his White House Years under then President Richard Nixon. From 1973-2005 he wrote a twice-weekly "Essay" for the Op-Ed page of the Times, a forceful, conservative voice. He conduced much of his own reporting, called people liars in print. His last O-Ed column was "Never Retire." Safire was bold and succinct in the comments he made. He won a 1978 Pulitzer Price for commentary. He spent 32 years tenaciously attacking and defending foreign and domestic policies, and the foibles of seven administrations. He incurred both enmity and admiration.

Safire was also known for setting up a "kitchen debate" in Moscow between Nixon and Kruschev debating the subjects of capitalism vs. communism. Safire had his picture taken with both of them after the debate. Mr. Safire also won a Pulitzer Prize for columns accusing former President Jimmy Carter's budget director, Bert Lance of shady dealings. Lance resigned but was later acquitted in court. Even though he voted for Bill Clinton in 1992, Safire became a strong critic of the Clinton administration. He called Hillary a "congenital liar", which upset Hillary for the "sake of her mother".

Safire was considered a "libertarian conservative". He supposedly believed in individual freedom but limited government. He opposed the USA Patriot Act that was passed following the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks. He stated the Patriot Act infringed upon America's civil liberties. He also wasn't supportive of Bush's treatment of prisoners. He was very supportive of the Iraq War in 2003 to oust Sadamm Hussein. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from George W. Bush in 2006. He was a member of the board that awards the Pulitzer Prizes. Finally, in his later years he was a member of the Dana Foundation which engaged in research in neuroscience, immunology and brain disorders.