premise: I think Safire 's puns are humorous , but are more suited to the spoken word than text . 
hypothesis: It ill behooves me , excoriated recently as enamored of the cheap larf , to criticize Safire 's arch puns , which permeate ' enliven is probably the word his editor would use'his articles , but I find some kinds of humor unsuitable for reading , however they might evoke a chuckle when uttered viva voce . A handful of examples , from the book at