David Broder Dies At 81

David S. Broder, a Pulitzer Prize Winning Columnist for the Washington Post and one of the most respected writers on National Politics for four decades, died at Capital Hospice in Arlington of complications from diabetes last Wednesday at the age of 81. David Broder was often called the Dean of the Washington Press Corps, a pseudonym he earned in his late 30's in part for the clarity of his political analysis and the influence he wielded as a perceptive thinker on political trends in his books, articles and television appearances.

In 1973, Mr. Border and The Post each won a Pulitzers for the coverage of the Watergate scandal that led to President Richard M. Nixon's resignation. Mr. Border's citation was for explaining the importance of the Watergate fallout in a clear, compelling way.

As passionate about baseball as he was about politics, he likened Nixon's political career to an often-traded pitcher who had "bounced around his league." He covered every presidential convention since 1956 and was widely regarded as the political journalist with the best-informed contacts, from the lowliest precinct to the highest rungs of government. 

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Former Post executive editor Benjamin C. Bradlee called Mr. Broder "the best political correspondent in America. David knew politics from the back room up - the mechanics of politics, the county and state chairmen - whereas most Washington reporters knew it at the Washington level."

Mr. Broder was praised at the highest echelons of political power. The White House issued a statement from President Obama that called him a "true giant of journalism" and added that he "built a well-deserved reputation as the most respected and incisive political commentator of his generation."

Sen. Richard G. Lugar (R-Ind.) said in a statement, "In his thoughtful and probing questions based on decades of scholarship and on-the-scene observations, David Broder set the modern 'gold standard' for those of us engaged in political life as we sought to persuade others, to legislate and to administer the successful progress of our country."