John Gruber of Daring Fireball:
Here’s the thing. I didn’t read his (William Safire’s) op-ed column because I agreed with him; I read it because I didn’t agree with him. Though I seldom agreed with his politics (and when I did, it was in favor of individual privacy and liberty), Safire was always thoughtful and his writing always playful. I feel it’s important to read the opinions of those with whom you tend to disagree, politically or otherwise.
But even if your politics and constitution are such that you could not abide his op-ed column, I don’t see how anyone who loves U.S. English didn’t cherish his Sunday ‘On Language’ column as the national treasure that it was. 30 years! And he kicked ass until the very end
(responding to readers’ complaints about how Gruber could say anything positive about the Nixon speech-writer who also supported the Iraq War).