The antithesis of dismal science.

• Author: Barrett, Wayne M.

Economics has been called the "Dismal Science." Those who believe that myth should have spent more time listening to Murray Weidenbaum, the former Mallinckrodt Distinguished University Professor at Washington University, where he was Honorary Chairman of the Weidenbaum Center on the Economy, Government, and Public Policy. He served in four presidential administrations, culminating with his position as Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers under Ronald Reagan, where he was a key component of, and contributor to, "Reagonomics," the supply side revolution that ignited the largest and longest boom in U.S. history.

We were proud and honored to have him as our Economics Editor, and so very saddened by his recent death. Murray was our "Ernest Hemingway of Economics." He wrote in short, concise sentences that were easily...