Credit: The White House
President George W. Bush presents William Safire with the 2006 Presidential Medal of Freedom. Safire (born December 17, 1929) is an American author, semi-retired columnist, and former journalist and presidential speechwriter. He is perhaps best known as a long-time syndicated political columnist for The New York Times and a regular contributor to "On Language" in the New York Times Magazine, a column on popular etymology, new or unusual usages, and other language-related topics.