Avoid overuse of 'quotation “marks.”' William Safire More Quotes by William Safire More Quotes From William Safire I'm a right-wing pundit and have been for many years. William Safire pundits wings years President Reagan is a rhetorical roundheels, as befits a politician seeking empathy with his audience. William Safire empathy politician president The new, old, and constantly changing language of politics is a lexicon of conflict and drama?ridicule and reproach?pleading and persuasion. William Safire lexicon language drama This is not some alarmist Orwellian scenario; it is here, now, financed by $20 billion last year and $15 billion more this year of federal money appropriated out of sheer fear. By creating the means to monitor 300 million visits to the United States yearly, this administration and a supine opposition are building a system capable of identifying, tracking and spying on 300 million Americans. William Safire creating mean years 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 companion able mind By elevating your reading, you will improve your writing or at least tickle your thinking. William Safire reading writing thinking Decide on some imperfect Somebody and you will win, because the truest truism in politics is: You can't beat Somebody with Nobody. William Safire politics political winning In lieu of those checks and balances central to our legal system, non-citizens face an executive that is now investigator, prosecutor, judge, jury and jailer or executioner. In an Orwellian twist, Bush's order calls this Soviet-style abomination 'a full and fair trial.' William Safire style judging order It behooves us to avoid archaisms. Never use a long word when a diminutive one will do. William Safire use writing long The Republicans do not look on the Democrats as the evil empire. William Safire empires evil looks You don't overturn a previous court's decisions lightly and I think most Americans are somewhere in the middle on abortion and there's not going to be a revolution here at all. William Safire abortion decision thinking George Washington had a tough second term. William Safire tough term What we don't need to know for achievement, we need to know for our pleasure. Knowing how things work is the basis for appreciation, and is thus a source of civilized delight. William Safire I think we all have a need to know what we do not need to know. William Safire i-think need think know When infuriated by an outrageous column, do not be suckered into responding with an abusive e-mail. Pundits so targeted thumb through these red-faced electronic missives with delight, saying 'Hah! Got to 'em.' William Safire electronic saying through delight What do you call a co-worker these days? Neither teammate nor confederate will do, and partner is too legalistic. The answer brought from academia to the political world by Henry Kissinger and now bandied in the boardroom is colleague. It has a nice upper-egalitarian feel, related to the good fellowship of collegial. William Safire partner good you world Stop worrying about the 'dumbing down' of our language by bloggers, tweeters, cableheads and MSM thumbsuckers engaged in a 'race to the bottom' of the page by little minds confined to little words. William Safire stop words down language
