Will Will Waste Winnings on Wine, Women
The Washington Post writes up conservative columnist George Will’s receipt last night of one of four prizes from the Bradley Foundation. The fancy shin-dig at the Kennedy Center by the conservative booster–emceed by FNC’s Fred Barnes–honored Will, Ward Connerly, founder of the American Civil Rights Institute, Manhattan Institute Fellow Heather Mac Donald, and Princeton Professor Robert George.
Will said that receiving the Bradley Prize was even better than his 1977 Pulitzer for distinguished commentary–not of least of all because it comes with a cool quarter million in cash, no strings attached.
Opening his speech as the final honoree of the night, Will drew laughter with his line, “Brevity is not only the soul of wit and the essence of lingerie….”
When the Post’s Jennifer Frey pushed Will on what he’d do, he first demurred, saying it was none of the paper’s business. Then he reached deep into his famous baseball brain and quoted Miracle Met Tug McGraw’s famous line about what he’d do with his winnings: “I’ll spend a lot of it on wine and women, and I’ll probably waste the rest.” “That,” Will told the Post, “is my answer.”
His answer makes even more sense when one considers Will’s position. After all, to receive an award from the right-wing organization at last night’s dinner of “like-minded people,” Will also had to buy into McGraw’s other famous line: “Ya Gotta Believe.”
