The death of David Broder of the Washington Post takes from newspaperdom one of the great political reporters just when we need him more than ever. We didn’t know him personally, alas, but we read and admired his reporting for essentially all of our working lives. Our favorite moment in his long oeuvre concerns a columm Broder wrote criticizing the majority leader in the Senate, Harry Reid, for his pre-emptive declaration of defeat in the Battle of Iraq. Broder’s column, of which we were reminded by a posting on futureofcapitalism.com, was met with a letter of objection to the Post sent by the entire membership of the Democratic Caucus, some 50 senators, excoriating Broder for practicing what anyone other than a senator would comprehend is journalism of the highest kind. It was a breathtaking moment. “The notion of a Washington politician declaring a war lost even as American GIs are appearing in arms on the field of battle in the cause of freedom abroad, well it has a way of grating on those who have worn the uniform, a fact that many of Mr. Broder’s readers, if not the 50 senators, understand,” we wrote in an editorial at the time. With American GIs in daily combat in another far off war and with Washington wavering, it looks like David Broder will be missed.