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Never assume the obvious is true.

William Safire

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William Safire
Age: 79 †
Born: 1929
Born: December 17
Died: 2009
Died: September 27
Author
Columnist
Journalist
Writer
New York City
New York
William Lewis Safire
Never
Obviousness
Assumption
Assume
Assuming
Obvious
True
Truth

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The remarkable legion of the unremarked, whose individual opinions are not colorful or different enough to make news, but whose collective opinion, when crystallized, can make history.
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Color and bite permeate a language designed to rally many men, to destroy some, and to change the minds of others.
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English is a stretch language one size fits all.
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The Republicans do not look on the Democrats as the evil empire.
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By elevating your reading, you will improve your writing or at least tickle your thinking.
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I could get a better education interviewing John Steinbeck than talking to an English professor about novels.
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Of higher value than any one leader is the cause.
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This is what it's all about. From what I could see, you could get a bunch of people together, whip up the press and have some impact.
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Last, but not least, avoid cliches like the plague.
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Some handsome and ambitious men believe they are above all morality, and a woman's virtue becomes a mere challenge to them.
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I'm a right-wing pundit and have been for many years.
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Carter is the best President the Soviet Union ever had.
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Adapt your style, if you wish, to admit the color of slang or freshness of neologism, but hang tough on clarity, precision, structure, grace.
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No one flower can ever symbolize this nation. America is a bouquet.
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When your government, employer, landlord, merchant, banker and local sports team gang up to picture, digitize and permanently record your every activity, you are placed under unprecedented control.
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Decide on some imperfect Somebody and you will win, because the truest truism in politics is: You can't beat Somebody with Nobody.
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Knowing how things work is the basis for appreciation, and is thus a source of civilized delight.
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Sir Alec Douglas-Home, when he was British Foreign Secretary, said he received the following telegram from an irate citizen: To hell with you. Offensive letter follows.
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It behooves us to avoid archaisms. Never use a long word when a diminutive one will do.
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We are all environmentalists now, but we are not all planetists. An environmentalist realizes that nature has its pleasures and deserves respect. A planetist puts the earth ahead of the earthlings.
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