I don’t have a hoard of Jeane Kirkpatrick anecdotes–my interactions with her revolved around a handful of interviews over the years, mostly by phone. The last time I saw her, however, was just a few months ago. I was writing a story the presidential election in Nicaragua–the one that Daniel Ortega recently won. We were at a D.C. event for Eduardo Montealegre, the guy who came in second (and who would have trounded Ortega in a run-off). From my article:
“It’s ridiculous for Ortega to be on the ballot,” says Kirkpatrick. “He hasn’t changed. The Nicaraguan people shouldn’t even permit him to hope that he’ll be president.”
She was really quite animated–she fought the Commies to the very end.