NOW THERE'LL NEVER BE AN ORRIN ORIN JUDD...:

POST D.C. BUREAU CHIEF DEBORAH ORIN-EILBECK DIES (CYNTHIA R. FAGEN, January 28, 2007, NY Post)

Post Editor-in-Chief Col Allan said, "Deborah was one of the nation's finest political reporters. She was never part of press group-think that so often rules Washington.

"Common sense ruled her mind, not dogma. I will miss her advice, and The Post's readers will miss her honesty and wisdom."

Orin-Eilbeck, 59, joined the New York Post in 1977 after a stint with the Long Island Press, and she immediately made her mark on New York politics.

When the Post dispatched her to Washington in 1988, she quickly emerged as one of the nation's top political journalists.

She covered four presidencies, interviewing leaders and dignitaries including President Bush, Barbara Bush, Condoleeza Rice and Colin Powell.

Even one of her biggest sparring partners, Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.), reached out to wish her well during her illness.

"As hard as it is to believe, we really miss you around here," Clinton wrote.

Deborah Orin of 'NY Post' Dies at 59 (Editor & Publisher, January 28, 2007)

Orin-Eilbeck, a native New Yorker, graduated with honors from Harvard University. She received a master's degree from Northwestern University, Rubenstein said. She attended the schools on scholarships, he said.

Orin-Eilbeck, who was fluent in French, also studied at the Sorbonne in Paris, he said.

She was a gourmet cook and an avid gardener and was passionate about politics.

President and Mrs. Bush Saddened by Death of Deborah Orin-Eilbeck (George W. Bush, 1/28/07)

Laura and I were saddened to learn of the death of Deborah Orin-Eilbeck. Deb had a distinguished, decades-long career as a journalist, covering every Presidential campaign since 1980 and joining the New York Post's Washington bureau in 1988. Deb fought a valiant battle against cancer with the same tenacity, devotion, and determination that she brought to her work in the White House briefing room through numerous Administrations.

Laura and I send our condolences to Deb's husband Neville Eilbeck, and to her family, friends, and colleagues. She will be missed by all of us at the White House who cared deeply for her.

She spent a day traveling with the candidate -- who I think was her classmate at Harvard -- when I worked on the NJ gubernatorial campaign. We typically only had three men in the car -- the candidate, me, and a cop -- and it was pointed out to us on more than one occasion that it was kind of a Little Rascals Road Show. She fit right in though and was more fun than a bag of cats.

Posted by Orrin Judd at January 28, 2007 8:35 PM