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Political columnist Jules Witcover, known for his daily syndicated columns and blunt assessments of politicians, died at age 98. He wrote the column “Politics Today” for 24 years with partner Jack Germond, firstly at The Washington Star and then at The Baltimore Sun, when Germond retired in 2001, Witcover continued the column solo for another five years. The column, at its peak, ran five times a week and was featured in about 140 newspapers.
Renowned Political Columnist Jules Witcover Passes Away
Esteemed political columnist Jules Witcover, celebrated for his widely syndicated “Politics Today” column, passed away on Saturday at 98, according to his daughter Amy Witcover-Sandford.
Co-authoring with the late Jack Germond for 24 years, Witcover’s column, first published in The Washington Star before moving to The Baltimore Sun, served as a platform for strong political viewpoints. Post Germond’s retirement in 2001, Witcover continued the column solo for another five years at The Sun.
Witcover contributed to the political journalism landscape through his work with the Newhouse News Service, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, and magazines The New Republic, Saturday Review, and The Nation.
His career offered him a front-row seat to history, witnessing significant historical events and figures, including Robert F. Kennedy. His experiences fed into his literature, including his account of RFK’s presidential campaign in “85 Days”.
Witcover and Germond, celebrated their friendly rivalry and their shared passion for political writing, often exemplified through their collaborative column work. Their camaraderie was captured in Timothy Crouse’s account of the 1972 presidential election, “Boys on the Bus.”
Their syndicated column, popular across approximately 140 newspapers, allowed them to play ‘good cop/bad cop’ in expressing their political views. Witcover also critiqued President George W. Bush’s Iraq war policies in his later years, though he didn’t believe this resulted in The Sun dropping his column.
Witcover, a New Jersey native, showed an early interest in writing, creating a family newspaper as a child and later attending Columbia’s graduate school of journalism. His career spanned several decades, culminating as the chief political writer for the Newhouse News Service.
Alongside a dedicated journalism career, Witcover authored several political histories and maintained a vigorous writing schedule even post-retirement, earning the admiration of peers like Walter Mears from The Associated Press.
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