A Conservative from Cleveland in Boston

Jeff Jacoby is now part of the furniture—part of the furniture of American journalism, certainly of opinion journalism. Since 1994, he has written a column for the Boston Globe. That is extraordinary longevity in the media. You can also find him at (where else?) jeffjacoby.com.

Though Jeff is a fixture in Boston, he comes from Cleveland. He regards himself as an Ohioan in Boston (as I regard myself as a Michigander in New York).

Jeff is a conservative, of the pre-2016 variety. To a degree, he has held down the conservative fort in New England these past 30 years.

With the regnant Right today, he has many differences, obviously. Maybe the biggest has to do with immigration—which he regards as a boon to our country.

... on a personal level, I’m the son of an immigrant, and I’m the father of an immigrant, and I’m the father-in-law of an immigrant. And I grew up in a community where I was surrounded by immigrants. I have a feeling for the value and the contribution of immigration to American society.

Not long ago, words such as those were standard-issue. Now they are fighting words.

In our Q&A, Jeff and I talk about various subjects, including the media, the Ukraine war, and music. At the end, I ask him to tell one of my favorite stories—a story he told me long ago, about a trip he took with his father to Auschwitz.

An adornment to our scene, a blessing on it: Jeff Jacoby.

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