The Washington Post

Conservatism and America's Fabric, The Craft of Baseball - George Will (2002)

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George Frederick Will (born May 4, 1941) is an American newspaper columnist, journalist, and author. He is a Pulitzer Prize–winner best known for his conservative commentary on politics. In 1986, The Wall Street Journal called him “perhaps the most powerful journalist in America,” in a league with Walter Lippmann (1889–1974). Will was born in Champaign, Illinois, the son of Frederick L. Will and Louise Hendrickson Will.[4] His father was a professor of philosophy, specializing in epistemology, at the University of Illinois. Will graduated from University Laboratory High School of Urbana, Illinois, and Trinity College, in Hartford, Connecticut (BA, Religion, 1962).[5] He subsequently studied Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at Magdalen College, Oxford, (BA, MA), and received MA and PhD degrees in politics from Princeton University. His 1968 PhD dissertation was entitled Beyond the Reach of Majorities: Closed Questions in the Open Society. From 1970 to 1972, he served on the staff of Senator Gordon Allott (R-CO). Will then taught political philosophy at the James Madison College of Michigan State University, and at the University of Toronto. He taught at Harvard University in 1995 and again in 1998. Will served as an editor for National Review from 1972 to 1978. He joined the Washington Post Writers Group in 1974, writing a syndicated biweekly column, which became widely circulated among newspapers across the country and continues today. His column is syndicated to 450 newspapers.[6] In 1976 he became a contributing editor for Newsweek, writing a biweekly backpage column until 2011. Will was widely praised by liberals for condemning the corruption of the Nixon presidency. He won a Pulitzer Prize for Commentary for "distinguished commentary on a variety of topics" in 1977.[7] Often combining factual reporting with conservative commentary, Will's columns are known for their erudite vocabulary, allusions to political philosophers, and frequent references to baseball.[8] Will has also written two bestselling books on the game of baseball, three books on political philosophy, and has published eleven compilations of his columns for The Washington Post and Newsweek and of various book reviews and lectures. Will is currently a contributor for Fox News.[9] Prior to joining Fox News in 2013, Will was a news analyst for ABC News since the early 1980s and was a founding member on the panel of ABC's This Week with David Brinkley in 1981, now titled This Week with George Stephanopoulos. Will was a panelist on This Week till his departure from ABC News. Will was also a regular panelist on television's Agronsky & Company from 1977 through 1984 and on NBC's Meet the Press in the mid-to-late 1970s. Will has proposed that the United States withdraw all troops from Afghanistan[10] and defended Barack Obama's response to the uprisings after the 2009 elections in Iran.[11] He also criticized the Bush administration for engaging in warrantless surveillance[12] and supported trials for detainees at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp. On immigration, Will supports tighter border security and a "path to citizenship" for illegal immigrants.[13] Will argued that the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision caused a "truncation of democratic debate about abortion policy."[14] On crime, Will is opposed to the death penalty.[15] He thinks that higher incarceration rates make the populace safer.[16] Additionally, Will is generally skeptical of affirmative action programs.[17] Will favors the legalization of drugs.[18] Will supports low taxes, as he thinks that they stimulate economic growth and are more morally fair.[19] He was opposed to both George W. Bush and Barack Obama's stimulus plans.[20] Will supports abolishing the minimum wage [21] and creating voluntary personal retirement accounts in order to reduce the federal cost of Social Security. In February 2013, Will wrote in support of a proposal by "relentlessly liberal" Sherrod Brown to break up consolidated banks and finance industry conglomerates, ending "too big to fail" by restoring the Glass-Steagall Act.[23] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Will