-9999

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, for just a few minutes, I would like to call our colleagues' attention to a rather rarified milestone in Washington and in our national political discourse--50 years of columns from George Will of the Washington Post.

Perhaps in some other biography of some other figure approaching George's intellectual stature, the eye might be drawn to the doctorate in political science. Among the credentials of some impressive journalists, you might notice above all a Pulitzer Prize. But in the story of George Will, the most remarkable thing is the consistent, unrelenting rhythm.

Twice a week for half a century, he has commanded a place in the most consequential conversations; twice a week, inviting and sometimes insisting that the most powerful city in the most powerful Nation on Earth actually consider a well-reasoned argument.

Of course, George Will's columns are usually a great deal more than air-tight, logical cases; they are full of historical trivia, sharp wit, delicious sarcasm, and more often than not, allusions to or outright lessons in America's pastime.

Like Buckley and Reagan, George Will quite evidently enjoys his vocation as a happy warrior. He clearly relishes every chance to gently remind readers that the answers to the biggest questions of the day so often lie in the wisdom and traditions of the past.

In his own reflections on 50 years at the Post, George remarked that the great luxury of a columnist is assuming that the mental pantries of one's readers are well stocked with baseline knowledge. Well, the mental pantries of George's loyal readers, in fact, overflow--in no small part thanks to his consistent deposits of earnest produce.

As always, we look forward to reading what he has to say next.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source