Insightful, optimistic, fair
Published 12:01 am Thursday, March 10, 2011
Washington Post columnist David S. Broder, who died Wednesday at age 81, was a throwback to an earlier era of opinion writing, and of the politics he covered so well. His work, which graced these pages and those of more than 300 other newspapers, will be missed.
Unlike so many in today’s virt
ual echo chamber of bloggers and talking heads, Broder was, first and foremost, a reporter. His columns were the product of thorough research and probing interviews — nearly as often with voters or local officials as with members of Congress or national party leaders. He approached them with a natural curiosity, an open mind, and an unyielding sense of fairness.
As a result, his columns offered insightful analysis based on fact and observation rather than hard opinion rooted in emotion or ideology.
That was refreshing, particularly in recent years as ideological tirades have saturated the political airwaves. Broder was a practical, centrist thinker who was often critical of deeply ideological positions, from the right or the left, yet he remained respectful even of those he criticized — even when he did so sharply.
He also respected the institutions he covered, and seemed ever optimistic about their ability to nudge flawed leaders toward responsible action. He truly seemed to believe in the capacity of human beings to save themselves from their worst tendencies.
Often over the last two decades, Broder wrote longingly about the friendly, bipartisan relationships that used to be enjoyed by members of Congress and the executive branch. They had meals together, spent family time together. They were partisans, to be sure, but they also recognized the values they shared as leaders and as Americans.
He decried the polarization and lack of civility of recent years. Ever an advocate for solutions, he kept arguing that if Democrats and Republicans would just get to know each other better, areas of political compromise might begin to reveal themselves.
He was quick to applaud the accomplishments of bipartisanship, like the recommendations made late last year by Democrat Erskine Bowles and Republican Alan Simpson, co-chairmen of the president’s deficit reduction committee. And, in one of his last columns, he was just as quick to criticize President Obama in January for failing to seize an opportunity in his State of the Union address to leverage the Bowles-Simpson plan into a proposal to overhaul the tax code and recover $500 billion a year.
His dependable knack for cutting right to heart of a difficult issue and offering a way forward made him one of the best at his craft. These days, it’s a talent that’s far too rare.
