Conservative Journalism Giant Norman Podhoretz Dead at 95

Norman Podhoretz, the conservative journalism giant who was awarded a Presidential Medal of Freedom by former President George W. Bush, passed away on Tuesday evening at the age of 95.

Podhoretz served as the editor-in-chief of the Jewish political and cultural magazine Commentary for a three-and-a-half-decade stretch from 1960 until 1995. He subsequently served as editor-at-large until his death.

John Podhoretz, the son of the deceased and current editor-in-chief of Commentary, remembered his father in an obituary for the publication they both led.

“What you really need to know is that what mattered most to him was writing. Great writing. Good writing. Clear writing. Honest writing. He was the most literate man I have ever known, possessed of an encyclopedic knowledge of the written word in our time and in times past, who found true moral, intellectual, and aesthetic purpose in the act of reading and deciphering and comprehending. And he was himself a prose stylist of magnificence.” the younger Podhoretz wrote.

“He often quipped that he would forgive any insult if the person delivering it also said he was a good writer. He was a man of great wit and a man of deep wisdom and he lived an astonishing and uniquely American life. And he bound himself fast to his people, his heritage, and his history. His knowledge extended beyond literature to Jewish history, Jewish thinking, Jewish faith, and the Hebrew Bible, with all of which he was intimately familiar and ever fascinated. He made the life of the mind a joyous sport,” he continued. “Through his nine-plus decades journeying f[r]om Brooklyn poverty to Manhattan comfort, he fathered and raised four children, 13 grandchildren, and 16 great-grandchildren. Though the memory is green, I believe his work and his lineage will serve to honor the astonishing contributions he made to the world he has left.”