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The Washington Post
Posted at 08:07 AM ET, 04/06/2005

Peter Jennings
by Joel Achenbach

"The disturbing news about what appears to be an advanced case of lung cancer has to be coupled with awe at the gracefulness with which Peter Jennings told the world last night. Look at the clip on our web site: Not a trace of self-pity. Played it straight, conversationally. He had been told a day earlier that he had lung cancer and his voice was terrifyingly hoarse, but he has always been unflappable and he remains unflapped.

We always throw around words like urbane and sophisticated and cool when describing Jennings, who perhaps at times could be too much so, a bit superior, elevated, which we took to be some kind of Canadian affect. But a society needs people who don't panic at bad news. They're the ultimate grown-ups."