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The first ladyship is the only federal office in which the holder can neither be fired nor impeached.

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
Impeached
Holder
Fired
Federal
Neither
Office
Firsts
First

More quotes by William Safire

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I'm a right-wing pundit and have been for many years.
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I welcome new words, or old words used in new ways, provided the result is more precision, added color or greater expressiveness.
William Safire
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In dealing with Syria's dictator...only force counts. No cease-fire was attainable in Lebanon until the 16-inch guns of the battleship New Jersey started shelling Syria's proxies suddenly, sweet reason prevailed in Damascus.
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When articulation is impossible, gesticulation comes to the rescue.
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To communicate, put your words in order give them a purpose use them to persuade, to instruct, to discover, to seduce.
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Only in grammar can you be more than perfect.
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A reader ought to be able to hold it and become familiar with its organized contents and make it a mind's manageable companion.
William Safire
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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.
William Safire
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Never feel guilty about reading, it's what you do to do your job.
William Safire
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Dangling punch lines to forgotten stories remain in the language like the smile of the Cheshire cat.
William Safire
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Never look for the story in the 'lede.' Reporters are required to put what's happened up top, but the practiced pundit places a nugget of news, even a startling insight, halfway down the column, directed at the politiscenti. When pressed for time, the savvy reader starts there.
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Never assume the obvious is true.
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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.
William Safire
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George Washington had a tough second term.
William Safire
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If America cannot win a war in a week, it begins negotiating with itself.
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As long as one American is hungry... then we have unfinished business in this country.
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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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When duty calls, that is when character counts.
William Safire
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Cast aside any column about two subjects. It means the pundit chickened out on the hard decision about what to write about that day.
William Safire
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Sometimes I know the meaning of a word but am tired of it and feel the need for an unfamiliar, especially precise or poetic term, perhaps one with a nuance that flatters my readership's exquisite sensitivity.
William Safire