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Wesley Pruden

Wesley Pruden

wpruden@washingtontimes.com

Wesley Pruden would have wanted to spend his final hours at his keyboard, deftly deflating the pompous, entitled and arrogant of the political establishment, and he came awfully close. The venerable Washington Times editor, columnist and journalism institution was found dead July 17, 2019, at his home, after putting in a full day at the newsroom on New York Avenue in Northeast D.C., where he had worked since 1982, four months after the newspaper's founding. He was 83.
His remarkable career began 67 years ago as a teenage copy boy in Arkansas, making him among the few old-school newsmen whose sharp political acumen, elegant writing style, and keen sense of the absurd allowed him to remain as relevant in the digital age as he was in the days when the rumpled shirts of reporters were splattered with ink.
To read his obituary, please CLICK HERE

Articles by Wesley Pruden

**FILE** Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. (The Washington Times)

PRUDEN: Borrow your convictions and slather with butter

Politicians are not often burdened with convictions. They can always borrow some when survival is at stake. Each party has an archive of convictions that have worked in the past, and a governor or a senator in trouble can always get a little help from temps.

July 12, 2010
Charles Bolden

PRUDEN: Flying to the moon on feel-good pills

Barack Obama's sex-change surgery for America continues, without even the consolation of anesthesia. (A lot of voters have been asleep, anyway.) Dr. Obama hopes to get the surgery finished before the patient wakes up in November to his considerably altered bodyscape.

July 8, 2010

PRUDEN: A vague, vapid mystery for the Supreme Court

Now that the charade is over, the U.S. Senate can get on with confirming Elena Kagan as the ninth justice of the Supreme Court, succeeding John Paul Stevens. Not a moment too soon, either, lest the rest of us gag on the pabulum.

July 1, 2010
Andrew Higgins

PRUDEN: ‘Don’t you know there’s a war on?’

The only relief we can count on in the Gulf will be from the BP drilling crews. That's something to keep in mind as the lynch mob races to find a hanging tree, armed with blind hysteria and a coil of sea-grass rope.

June 21, 2010

PRUDEN: Playing the bully is fun

By throwing sticks, stones and the occasional grenade at British Petroleum, the president diverts public attention from his own considerable shortcomings.

June 17, 2010
Harry S. Truman

PRUDEN: Would Obama settle for kicking a mule?

When Barack Obama says he wants to "kick somebody's ass" over the Gulf oil spill, we presume he may be willing to settle for a mule, since mules are easier to find than asses and provide bigger targets. But he has to be careful whose ass to kick. Pick the wrong one, and he'll get a swift kick in return.

June 10, 2010

PRUDEN: A president best suited for ceremony

Sometimes we can steal a good idea even from the Europeans. What we need, which many other countries already have, is a ceremonial president. He could make speeches and lay wreaths and attend funerals, leaving a real president to attend the important stuff, like making war, a budget and dealing with crises.

May 27, 2010

PRUDEN: Big dreams on the Mississippi

Old times in the land of cotton are not quite forgotten, when this old town on the Mississippi River was lively and prosperous. Cotton was king, reigning over the richest soil this side of the River Nile. Now Helena presides over one of the nation's poorest counties.

May 25, 2010

PRUDEN: Dreaming big on the Mississippi

Old times in the land of cotton are not quite forgotten, when this old town on the Mississippi River was lively and prosperous. Cotton was king, reigning over the richest soil this side of the River Nile. Now Helena presides over one of the nation's poorest counties.

May 24, 2010

PRUDEN: Setting up ‘Miss Blank’ for the smack-down

With Arlen Specter now retired to the Republic of Oblivia, the land of humiliated incumbents, attention focuses on Blanche Lincoln, who must enjoy attention while she can. She, too, seems en route to the province of the memorably forgotten.

May 20, 2010

PRUDEN: A salute to FEMA in soggy Nashville

George W. Bush taught Barack Obama one big thing, and the new president learned the lesson well. When a storm strikes it's important to send help, not grudging hindrance.

May 18, 2010