caption death_date death_place birth_place subject imagesize nationality office name birth_date spouse genre image article_title birth_name occupation
safire receiving the 2006 presidential medal of freedom 27 september 2009 rockville , maryland , u.s. new york city , new york , u.s. politics 200px american presidential speechwriter to president nixon william safire 17 december 1929 helene belmar julius non-fiction president of freedom.jpg bush presents william safire the 2006 president medal william safire
 william lewis safir author political speechwriter , columnist , lexicographer , journalist , and
william safire

william lewis safire -lrb- ; december 17 , 1929 -- september 27 , 2009 -rrb- was an american author , columnist , journalist , and presidential speechwriter .
he was perhaps best known as a long-time syndicated political columnist for the `` new york times '' and the author of `` on language '' in the `` new york times magazine '' , a column on popular etymology , new or unusual usages , and other language-related topics from its inception .
