Another fine man, Gene McCarthy, has died today. He will be rightly remembered for his courage in opposing the odious Lyndon Johnson and for his courage in opposing restrictions on freedom of speech (notably campaign finance restrictions) but he will also be remembered for his wit. Some years ago I was asked by the Wall Street Journal to write a piece on the 75th anniversary of The New Republic, which was celebrated shortly after the defeat of Senator Fritz Mondale by Ronald Reagan in the race for the presidency. I attended the party for the magazine’s celebration (which was also attended by Robert Nozick) and I got a great quote for the piece from Senator McCarthy: “Fritz Mondale didn’t lead the Democrats to defeat. He just escorted them.” (I also recall his remark, regarding campaign finance restrictions, that the founding fathers were not famous for pledging “their lives, their sacred honor, and up to $1,000.”)