Today there was a memorial service held to celebrate the life of longtime political columnist and Pulitzer Prize-winner David Broder, who died on March 9 after covering national politics for four decades. Here is the cartoon I drew about Broder for Editor & Publisher, the trade magazine of the newspaper industry:
The Washington Post asked politicians to recall their interactions with Broder prior to the service. My favorite of the bunch comes from Ed Rendell, the former Democratic governor of Pennsylvania:
I would see David Broder in person every year at the U.S. Conference of Mayors Convention or the National Governors Association conference. He would call and say, “Let’s get together, catch up and shoot the breeze totally off the record.”
One hour later, I would have invariably disclosed something and, unbelievably, agreed to let him use it. Just as invariably my disclosure would get me in trouble. For example, at the 2008 Democratic convention in Denver, David cajoled me into saying that Candidate Obama reminded me of Adlai Stevenson. Though I meant it as a compliment, the Obama campaign, given that Adlai got trounced twice, went ballistic.
Ah, David. Always getting me in trouble, but I will miss him dearly.
