William Safire
William Safire
William Lewis Safire was an American author, columnist, journalist, and presidential speechwriter...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionNovelist
Date of Birth17 December 1929
CityNew York City, NY
CountryUnited States of America
war winning america
If America cannot win a war in a week, it begins negotiating with itself.
order giving purpose
To communicate, put your words in order; give them a purpose; use them to persuade, to instruct, to discover, to seduce.
cat lines stories
Dangling punch lines to forgotten stories remain in the language like the smile of the Cheshire cat.
politics motto gridlock
Gridlock is great. My motto is, 'Don't just do something. Stand there.'
mind able companion
A reader ought to be able to hold it and become familiar with its organized contents and make it a mind's manageable companion.
taken jargon arcane
Do not be taken in by 'insiderisms.' Fledgling columnists, eager to impress readers with their grasp of journalistic jargon, are drawn to such arcane spellings as 'lede.' Where they lede, do not follow.
religious peace war
I was standing next to a famed geo-politician when the first news of the Argentine attack [on the Faulkland Islands] was received, and heard him muse incredulously: "An old-fashioned naval battle. A war between two civilized nations, perhaps with even a declaration of war, and later a peace conference. Wow." No hostages, no nukes, no ideologies, no religious fanaticism; just a fair-and-square war over national interests - hard to believe, in this day and age.
new-york long wonderful
The wonderful thing about being a New York Times columnist is that it's like a Supreme Court appointment - they're stuck with you for a long time.
fighting years light
Previously known for its six syllables of sweetness and light, reconciliation has become the political fighting word of the year.
nice cfo giving
The CEO era gave rise to the CFO (not certified flying object, as you might imagine, but chief financial officer) and, most recently, the CIO, chief investment officer, a nice boost for the bookkeeper you can't afford to give a raise . . .
writing nouns use
Why use a modifier to set straight a not-quite-right noun when the right noun is available?
drama lexicon language
The new, old, and constantly changing language of politics is a lexicon of conflict and drama?ridicule and reproach?pleading and persuasion.
president different may
Different regions may require different strategies, as President Bush has noted, but not different basic principles. It's either collective security or selective security.
media joy manipulation
What a joy it is to see really professional media manipulation.