We know it seems churlish to say “Good riddance!” when someone bids farewell. Just as obituary is a genre that favors eulogy—de mortuis nil nisi bonum—so valedictions tend to elicit polite good wishes. There are exceptions to every rule, however, and the final column by Anthony Lewis in The New York Times on December 16 vividly demonstrates this truth. As with so many of Mr. Lewis’s contributions to the op-ed pages of the Times over the last three decades, “Hail and Farewell” is an excruciating compendium of politically correct clichés that seamlessly blends smug self-satisfaction and unrelenting disdain. It deserves derision, not fond expressions of bon voyage.

To some extent, of course, smugness and self-satisfaction are occupational hazards facing those who regularly write opinion pieces for major newspapers. How could they not be? Expected to speak instantly, and with at least the appearance of authority, on any iss ...

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