No more jumping out of planes for G. Gordon Liddy

At 81, G. Gordon Liddy concedes there are a few things he likely won’t be able to do at his age — such as jumping out of planes. He says he’ll leave that to the septuagenarians. 

“I guess the most memorable thing for me [during my career] was qualifying as an Israeli paratrooper and then jumping with them three times. The last time I jumped, I was 75. I may be too old now,” he told The Hill at his retirement party last week at the Capitol Hill Club.

While any plane-jumping plans might be on hold, age hasn’t affected Liddy’s sharp sense of humor. At the soiree, hosted by daughter Sandra Liddy Bourne, The Competitive Enterprise Institute and Shirley & Banister Public Affairs, the conservative talk-show host — who stepped down from his eponymous syndicated show on Radio America earlier this summer — filled his remarks with plenty of politically charged quips.

“I’ve got a deep personal investment in winning this election,” Liddy announced at the intimate gathering, “because today I got my official notice from the Obama campaign. Next Wednesday I am scheduled for my first interview with the death panel.”

Speaking candidly about how his education helped him during the more than four years he spent in prison for his role in the Watergate scandal, Liddy deadpanned, “So for all you young people, while you got a chance, get as much education as you can. I don’t mean that lesbian studies.”

Liddy says he’s heading out to California to spend more time with his children and grandkids. But he still has a lot of unpacking to do. “I sold the home I owned in Arizona and, as a result, I have 75 boxes of furniture. So my present home is now resembling a warehouse.”

But retirement for the author and commentator doesn’t mean he’ll be completely off the grid. Liddy says he has a “few ideas rattling around” in his head for another book. “I’d have to find the time to do it,” he says.

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