Rest in peace, Tom Clancy

I was shocked and saddened to hear today of the death of one of my favorite authors, Tom Clancy. Written by a man more knowledgeable about defense matters than many of those running the DOD, Clancy's books gave us not only riveting narratives and well-developed characters but a sense that America and the values it was founded on can still get us through this vapid and diminished time in our history. Jack Ryan, his most important character, has provided us with a model of what a real patriot- and, recently, a real president- really looks like at a time when the memory of such folks grows ever dimmer.

I understand his last novel, Command Authority, will be coming out in December. Saying good by to President Ryan, First Lady Kathrine Ryan, Jack Jr, John Clark, Ding Chavez and the rest will be tough.

Thanks, Mr. C, for hours and hours of pleasure, and for making these bleak years more bearable for those who, like me, wish that we had the option of voting for a Jack Ryan- and who wish that the American people had had the common sense to do to Barack Obama's re-election bid what they did to Ed Kealty's in your most recent book.