Free Republic

“I would agree that voters need to be told where candidates stand, or pretend to stand, on their concerns,” he continued. “But a reporter who doesn’t quickly tell the readers what they most want to know — the score — won’t last long on the beat."

Jack W. Germond, an irascible columnist and commentator who was a fixture on the American political scene for nearly 50 years, including nearly 20 of them in The Baltimore Sun's Washington bureau, died shortly after 4 a.m. today of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at his home in Charles Town, W. Va. He was 85. "Jack died from the consequences of a life well-lived. He died at his home overlooking his beloved Shenandoah River," said his wife of 18 years, the former Alice Travis Ruby, who recently stepped down as secretary of the Democratic National Committee. Mr. Germond joined The Sun...

Sometimes you have to pay attention to people you disgree with, because often they will demonstrate why they are wrong better than you ever could. This morning on C-SPAN, Brian Lamb interview retired columnist Jack Germond. The interview is notable only in that it is a distillation of modern American liberalism rarely displayed so openly in the media. But even when it is not on display as blatantly as it was with Germond, you can rest assured it’s there. Germond went on at length about his atheism, the decline of political discourse, and how much he disapproves of President Bush....

<p>Jack Germond is a fat man. But he makes up for it by being short. He is not Mr. Five-by-Five, though he comes close.</p> <p>More importantly, Mr. Germond is, or rather was, one of the nation's better political reporters and columnists. Although he is now what one might call semi-retired, he still dabbles in television, writes an occasional op-ed piece, and now and then a book. His first four books were co-authored with fellow columnist Jules Witcover.</p>