Jack Germond, political columnist was 85

The affable longtime political sage and Baltimore Sun columnist who came to national prominence sparring with colleagues on TV’s “The McLaughlin Group” died this morning at his home in West Virginia. He was 85. He had just completed his first novel, “A Small Story for Page Three,” about a reporter investigating political intrigue, to be published Friday. He’d already published a memoir, memorably entitled: “Fat Man in the Middle Seat: Forty Years of Covering Politics.” Obit: Baltimore Sun