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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

PRUDEN: All atwitter about news of the obvious

That leaked cable traffic between U.S. embassies in the Middle East and the government in Washington, which has officials in a dozen capitals all atwitter, so far only confirms what everyone who reads newspapers already knows:

November 29, 2010
Kim Jong-il

PRUDEN: Wild, crazy guys and sheeps for shearing

"Extortion" is an ugly word to describe an ugly art, and nobody is better at extortion than those wild and crazy guys in Pyongyang. But who's crazier than foolish marks who fall all over themselves to submit, like sheep for shearing, to an extortionist's evil scheme?

November 25, 2010

PRUDEN: Stripping for a full travel experience

"Getting there is half the fun," and now the feds are teaching the Cunard steamship folks, who coined that memorable travel slogan, a thing or two. The feds are trying to make the departure the highlight of a trip through "the friendly skies."

November 18, 2010
 President Obama

PRUDEN: On second thought, we’re not all doomed

The winter hysteria season is almost upon us, and soon we'll be awash in epidemics (pandemics, too), death notices and graveyard diggings, runaway Toyotas and swarms of killer bees.

November 15, 2010

PRUDEN: Obama’s grim pursuit of Muslim romance

Unrequited love is a sad thing to watch, whether it's a callow teenager mooning over a photograph of that cute girl in algebra class, Scarlett O'Hara pining for the elusive Ashley — or Barack Obama in relentless pursuit of the affections of uninterested Muslims.

November 11, 2010

PRUDEN: The gap big enough to swallow a party

Every senator, every congressman, even every governor learns to put his considerable ego aside to recognize that it's the race for sheriff that draws the voters to the Election Day polls. But there's an occasional exception, and this is that year.

November 1, 2010
Alf Landon

PRUDEN: A little fakery makes the medicine go down

Enthusiasm is fine, but eventually it's time to take a campaign out and shoot it. We're getting close to that time. Outrage, irritation, polls, rallies and speeches finally grow old. Fortunately, it's almost time to vote.

October 28, 2010
Loyal Democrat

PRUDEN: Going to the dogs in the final sprint

Now is the time for all good Democrats to come to the aid of their party, and they should look under the front porch to round up all the reluctant yellow dogs they can find.

October 25, 2010
Judge Phillips

PRUDEN: How to defeat American arms

The attempt to transform America into a kinder, gentler version of the rest of the world, where political compromises are made in the streets, proceeds at warp speed.

October 21, 2010
Nicolas Sarkozy

PRUDEN: The poisonous elixir from the Europeans

Goons have pretty much shut down Paris, with the cops and students trading volleys of tear gas and gasoline bombs. The only bright spot Monday was the dwindling supplies of gasoline; when the pumps run dry, there won't be any more Molotov cocktails to throw at the cops.

October 18, 2010
Sen. David Vitter

PRUDEN: The scandal card fails in Louisiana

Voters in Louisiana are shockproof, with years of experience weighing the demerits — and even the occasional merits — of their native politicians. They often find the politicians wanting — and want more anyway. The motto of Mardi Gras — "Laissez les bon temps roulez," or "Let the good times roll" — works year-round.

October 4, 2010
Sen. George Aiken

PRUDEN: It’s a refudiation, not a recovery

This was supposed to be Recovery Summer, with all the good things Barack Obama has been doing to stimulate the economy finally kicking in to create jobs, jobs, jobs. But all this messiah has made so far is a mess.

September 30, 2010
Ronald Reagan

PRUDEN: The killing field for the Democrats

If the Democrats are looking for graveyards to whistle past, taking false courage in the babble of frightened voices, they should find them in the Middle West, where Republicans once owned most of the electoral real estate and Democrats have pried a lot of it out of their grip in recent decades.

September 27, 2010