Good night, David

Orange County Register: He started out as something of a brash young smart-aleck with an eccentric, almost hiccupy delivery, and retired as a beloved curmudgeon, comfortable in his own skin and ever ready to direct tart remarks at politicians of either party.
But you always sensed there was substance behind David Brinkley's comments, a substance that grew from his self-image and hard work.
He died Thursday in Houston at 82.
A reporter
David Brinkley was the best kind of reporter, constantly fascinated by the politicians he covered, aware of the times they did genuinely important things, and eternally skeptical of their veracity and motives.
You probably wouldn't have pegged him as a star when he was young. His father died when he was 8 and as the somewhat geeky youngest of five children he took refuge in books. That led to writing and that led to journalism. Unlike many TV newsies he spent time in the print business.
He delivered his own best eulogy in a 1997 interview (with his son Joel, a New York Times reporter). "If I were 20 years old, I would try to do the same thing again, all of it. I have no regrets. None at all."
Our regret? We won't be able the enjoy his raised-eyebrow wisdom any more.