Letter to the Editor

National Review, 22 April 2002

Sent 21 Mar 2002, published in 22 Apr 2002 issue

(They've Got the GUTS cover, headed "Anthony Lewis, For Sure")

In "Ashcroft with Horns" (March 25), Jay Nordlinger quotes retiring liberal columnist Anthony Lewis as saying that the most important lesson he'd learned in 50 years with the New York Times is that "certainty is the enemy of decency and humanity in people who are sure they are right, like Osama bin Laden and John Ashcroft." I only wish the interviewer had responded: "Uh-huh, and you're certain of that, are you?"

Clint Eastwood's Dirty Harry character once said: "There's nothing wrong with shooting, as long as all the right people get shot." In the same way, there's nothing wrong with certainty, as long as you're certain about the right things!