In peak ironic timing that he of course would have appreciated, word of Walter’s death (I can hardly bear typing that phrase) came on a Sunday morning, when lots of political journalists were online tracking the talk shows, unaware that a few hours later, President Joe Biden would suddenly “stand down” from running for reelection. By posting a letter on X/Twitter. And then waiting a half hour to mention he was endorsing his vice president, Kamala Harris.

That’s the kind of news political junkies wait lifetimes for and rarely encounter. Like so many others, I wanted to know what Walter thought. It wasn’t the first time in the last 10 days. I keep tripping over emails and direct messages and jokes.