VOA标准英语2009年-Conservative Speechwriter, Columnist Willi

By Adam Phillips
New York
28 September 2009

 
William Safire, the editor of "Safire's Political Dictionary," a famed conservative columnist¹ for the New York Times, and a former Nixon speechwriter (file)
 
William Safire, the renowned² wordsmith and conservative political pundit³ has died of pancreatic cancer in a Rockville, Maryland hospice at the age of 79.

William Safire was most famous for having been former U.S. President Richard Nixon's speechwriter, and for the three decades' worth of influential⁴ conservative columns he penned for the liberal New York Times newspaper.

Safire was born on December 17th 1929 in New York City, and although he dropped out of college after two years, he went to work for the now-defunct New York Herald⁵ Tribune newspaper. He left journalism⁶ while still in his early twenties, and went on to become a highly successful advertising⁷ and public relations executive.

In 1957, Safire met Vice⁸ President Richard Nixon on a trip to Moscow, and was later invited by Nixon to help him in his 1960 presidential bid, which he lost to John F. Kennedy. However, when Nixon was finally elected President in 1968, he hired Safire as his speechwriter. The transition from public relations executive to White House wordsmith was a smooth one for Safire, who told VOA in 2008 that both jobs were similar in many ways.

"... you dealt with how to change American public opinion," Safire said. "Whether you were selling [a] product, or whether you were selling an idea. When you are selling ideas, that's what politics is about."

The White House was a good perch⁹ for Safire, who had always had a keen interest in political speech and catchphrases. He had spent much of the 1960s collecting the words and lore¹⁰ he would include in "Safire's Political Dictionary," first published in 1968, and recently reissued in revised in updated form. But Safire also liked Nixon, both for his politics, and his preferred oratorical¹¹ style.
 
"It had a march. Start off with a lead and know where you're going and build an argument through. And then you stud it with stories, with little personal stories," Safire said. "The anecdote¹² is a powerful thing."

Safire earned a place in his own dictionary - and in American popular culture - with a phrase he put into a speech for Spiro T. Agnew, Nixon's colorful - and ultimately disgraced - Vice President.  

"... And I was looking for some criticism for people who were defeatists, who thought we could never win in Vietnam," Safire said. "So I came up with 'the nattering nabobs of negativism'... and I've been living with it ever since!"

The Watergate scandal - involving a cover-up of illegal activities during Nixon's 1972 re-election campaign, eventually forced Nixon to resign. Fortunately for Safire, a month before the scandal broke, the New York Times newspaper, whose opinion page was known for being predictably liberal, offered him a prominent regular column.

"And what they wanted was a different point of view on the page," Safire said. "I had come out of the Nixon White House and so I presented a totally different point of view, took issue with the Times editorial policy, and did that for 35 years."

Safire was known for taking forceful conservative positions on most issues, and never mincing¹³ words when opposing others' views," Safire said. "His scathing¹⁴ commentary on Bert Lance, a high-level Carter Administration official, garnered¹⁵ him a Pulitzer Prize in 1978. But Safire said he was careful not to make his criticism "personal."

" And so when I since have criticized or blasted the policies of various political figures, mainly on the left, you don't hate them, and they are not hateful people - 99 percent of them - and you don't get carried away. You can zap somebody, but you don't go for the throat," Safire said.

In 1979, the New York Times invited Safire to write a weekly column on the English language, which it called simply "On Language." Safire's observations on spoken and written English would become a popular mainstay for the newspaper's Sunday magazine, as well as a place for him to float ideas, make queries¹⁶, and to challenge readers.  

"And I would say 'Why do you have to say 'different from'? Who says? And then you'd weigh it and say 'usage has changed' or say 'it's good to stick to this because it's more precise.' And that hooked me," Safire said.

Safire ended his political column in 2005, and the next year was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian¹⁷ honor, for his lifetime achievements. But Safire never rested on his laurels¹⁸. He continued his weekly column "On Language" until two weeks before his death, and had been active as chairman for the Dana Foundation, a non-profit organization that promotes research on the human brain - an organ Safire once characterized as "a universe each of carries around with us." William Safire is survived by his wife, their two children, and a grandchild.  

1 columnist   

n.专栏作家

参考例句：

• The host was interviewing a local columnist.节目主持人正在同一位当地的专栏作家交谈。
• She's a columnist for USA Today.她是《今日美国报》的专栏作家。

2 renowned   

adj.著名的，有名望的，声誉鹊起的

参考例句：

• He is one of the world's renowned writers.他是世界上知名的作家之一。
• She is renowned for her advocacy of human rights.她以提倡人权而闻名。

3 pundit   

n.博学之人；权威

参考例句：

• Even the outstanding excellent graduate will learn constantly if he likes to be a pundit.即使最优秀的结业生，要想成为一个博学的人也要不断地研究。
• He is a well known political pundit.他是一个著名的政治专家。

4 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

5 herald   

vt.预示...的来临，预告，宣布，欢迎

参考例句：

• In England, the cuckoo is the herald of spring.在英国杜鹃鸟是报春的使者。
• Dawn is the herald of day.曙光是白昼的先驱。

6 journalism   

n.新闻工作，报业

参考例句：

• He's a teacher but he does some journalism on the side.他是教师，可还兼职做一些新闻工作。
• He had an aptitude for journalism.他有从事新闻工作的才能。

7 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

8 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

9 perch   

n.栖木，高位，杆；v.栖息，就位，位于

参考例句：

• The bird took its perch.鸟停歇在栖木上。
• Little birds perch themselves on the branches.小鸟儿栖歇在树枝上。

10 lore   

n.传说；学问，经验，知识

参考例句：

• I will seek and question him of his lore.我倒要找上他，向他讨教他的渊博的学问。
• Early peoples passed on plant and animal lore through legend.早期人类通过传说传递有关植物和动物的知识。

11 oratorical   

adj.演说的，雄辩的

参考例句：

• The award for the oratorical contest was made by a jury of nine professors. 演讲比赛的裁决由九位教授组成的评判委员会作出。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• His oratorical efforts evoked no response in his audience. 他的雄辩在听众中不起反响。 来自辞典例句

12 anecdote   

n.轶事，趣闻，短故事

参考例句：

• He departed from the text to tell an anecdote.他偏离课文讲起了一则轶事。
• It had never been more than a family anecdote.那不过是个家庭趣谈罢了。

13 mincing   

adj.矫饰的；v.切碎；切碎

参考例句：

• She came to the park with mincing,and light footsteps.她轻移莲步来到了花园之中。
• There is no use in mincing matters.掩饰事实是没有用的。

14 scathing   

adj.（言词、文章）严厉的，尖刻的；不留情的adv.严厉地，尖刻地v.伤害，损害（尤指使之枯萎）( scathe的现在分词)

参考例句：

• a scathing attack on the new management 针对新的管理层的猛烈抨击
• Her speech was a scathing indictment of the government's record on crime. 她的演讲强烈指责了政府在犯罪问题上的表现。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 garnered   

v.收集并（通常）贮藏（某物），取得，获得( garner的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Mr. Smith gradually garnered a national reputation as a financial expert. 史密斯先生逐渐赢得全国金融专家的声誉。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He has garnered extensive support for his proposals. 他的提议得到了广泛的支持。 来自辞典例句

16 queries   

n.问题( query的名词复数 )；疑问；询问；问号v.质疑，对…表示疑问( query的第三人称单数 )；询问

参考例句：

• Our assistants will be happy to answer your queries. 我们的助理很乐意回答诸位的问题。
• Her queries were rhetorical,and best ignored. 她的质问只不过是说说而已，最好不予理睬。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

18 laurels   

n.桂冠，荣誉

参考例句：

• The path was lined with laurels.小路两旁都种有月桂树。
• He reaped the laurels in the finals.他在决赛中荣膺冠军。