More as details unfold. Safire, known for the "On Language" and for his editorial post at the New York Times, has died at age 79.
From the NY Times
William Safire, Nixon Speechwriter and Times Columnist, Is Dead at 79
William Safire, a speechwriter for President Richard M. Nixon
and a Pulitzer Prize-winning political columnist for The New
York Times who also wrote books on politics and a treasury of
articles on language, has died at age 79.
I found Safire to be one of the more logical of the GOP writers, certainly one of the least inflammatory. Always better to argue with an articulate opponent, I say. Best to his family and friends.
More details as they become available.
Update: Appears to be of pancreatic cancer. Did anyone else even know he was ill?