In Appreciative Memory
of
Charles Krauthammer
a man of rare brlliance, character, humor, and integrity
 |
| Charles Krauthammer (1950-2018) |
We cover thee, Sweet Face __
Not that we tire of thee ––
But that thyself fatigue of us.
Remember as Thou flee
We follow Thee
Until Thou notice us no more ––
And then reluctant turn away
To conn Thee o’er and o’er ––
And blame the scanty love
We were content to show ––
Augmented, Sweet, a hundredfold ––
If Thou couldst take it now.
~ Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)
RIP Dr. Charles Krauthaumer the Smartest Man in Washington who has left us at the age of 68!
ReplyDeleteA Pulitzer Prize Winning Journalist & Psychiatrist was The Voice of Truth & Reason in Washington for over in 30 years! Charles was a Quadrapelegic from a swimming Pool accident while in College. Finished Grad School from Hospital Bed. Spent his Childhood Summers in Long Beach, NY! Charles I watched U Every Night at 6:45 on The Fox All-star Panel! CHARLES YOURS WAS A LIFE THAT MATTERED!
Thank you, DD. Obviusly I agree wholeheartedly.
DeleteThe Town Crier said
ReplyDeleteAmerica Lost her Greatest Political Commentator in Krauthammer
by ROGER L SIMON - PJ. Media
JUNE 21, 2018
When you call someone the greatest at anything, you risk being accused of foolishness or worse; but it's safe to say that Charles Krauthammer, who passed away Thursday, was the greatest political commentator of our time.
I write this not just because he won the Pulitzer for commentary as a conservative, a near Herculean task. And I say this even though I sometimes disagreed with him, especially lately. Whom do we not disagree with at one time or another -- even ourselves?
I write this because Krauthammer was the gold standard of columnists, the most incisive mind in political journalism augmented by the most elegant and precise prose. For much of his life, no one was even close. In recent years, others have stepped forward as Charles had, as happens after many years in the limelight, more difficulty wrapping his mind around contemporary events. But as we now know, he was desperately ill.
That he was ill most of his life made many of us underestimate how serious it was despite Charles' own warnings of his demise, because his personal bravery was legendary. He was a profile in courage if anyone was, having overcome that diving accident that made him a paraplegic days before entering Harvard Medical School. And then, to everyone's amazement, continuing on and graduating at the top of his class, only to abjure the psychiatric career for which he was training.
With characteristic wit, he called himself a psychiatrist in "remission." That was a remission that benefited the mental health of the country as, first as a liberal with The New Republic, he entered the journalistic world. But his keen analytical mind wouldn't allow him to remain an orthodox liberal for long. He was among the first to recognize there was actual political depth behind Ronald Reagan's affable California facade and wrote (for Time magazine in 1985 -- imagine that today) "The Reagan Doctrine," coining a phrase that lasted. From there, he continued to migrate rightward.
What Krauthammer accomplished was to show that conservatives (not liberals or progressives) were the true smart guys, that conservatives could be cool. He showed the way for an entire generation in that regard.
In a sense he was the living embodiment of the saying oft-attributed (probably wrongly) to Churchill that "a man who isn't a liberal in his twenties has no heart; a man who isn't a conservative in his thirties has no brain." (This quote obviously was originated some time ago before a time when people waited until forty-seven to grown up.)
I only met Krauthammer briefly, bumping into him through my friend Lionel Chetwynd with whom I did the Poliwood show on PJTV. Charles, a film buff, was interested in what we were doing. I also attended the Churchill dinner of The Claremont Institute at which he was the principal speaker. The man was genuinely funny, for me always a sign of intelligence.
Two years ago, Krauthammer explained why Trump is unfit to be president and predicted the tragedy of this week:
ReplyDeleteKRAUTHAMMER: Trump has "a shocking absence of elementary decency and of natural empathy for the most profound of human sorrows — parental grief.”
Even Krauthammer saw thru Trump.
You must be a great fan of Pete and Jane Fonda, aren't you?
DeleteMr. Krauthammer could be wrong on occasion, but –– unlike any hardcore leftist i've ever known –– Mr. Krauthammer had the good sense –– and the DECENCY –– to ADMIT it.
Now, I'll thank YOU to stay awat from this bog in future, because we don't allow LICE or any other form of VERMIN to breed here.
Got that?
I hope Krauthammer chose Yeshua to be his Messiah before he left us. It would be nice to see him again in the future when our times come.
ReplyDelete