From the New York Post



January 29, 2007 -- Deborah Orin-Eilbeck, The Post's longtime Washington, D.C., bureau chief whose passion for politics and unrivaled integrity kept the high and mighty on their toes, died yesterday after a battle with cancer.

"Laura and I were saddened to learn of the death of Deborah Orin-Eilbeck," President Bush said.

"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," the president said. "She'll be missed by all of us at the White House who cared deeply for her."

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."

A native New Yorker, Orin-Eilbeck studied French and English literature and graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University. She received a master's degree from Northwestern University, and also did graduate work at the Sorbonne in Paris.

Orin-Eilbeck, 59, joined the New York Post in 1977 after stints at the Chicago Daily Press and the Long Island Press.

After being dispatched to Washington in 1988, she covered four presidencies, interviewing leaders and dignitaries including President Bush, Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton said, "Deborah was a dogged reporter who never failed to ask a tough question. She always had her readers' best interests at heart."

Sen. Charles Schumer said, "She was fair and down the middle, and she would always get her story."

The White House Correspondents Association will award a $2,500-a-year scholarship in her name.

Vince Morris, a former Post reporter who worked under Orin-Eilbeck, said, "She was unlike most of the other bureau chiefs . . . She was a lot more caring.

"In 2003, when I went to Iraq, she would check in daily with my wife and tell her, 'I just got his story. He's doing fine,' to reassure her."

Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani hailed Orin-Eilbeck's "deep knowledge and understanding of how politics work . . . Her readers could rely on that knowledge when they read her stories. She didn't just report politics, she explained them."

In August she married Neville Eilbeck, whom she met on a plane coming back from an assignment.

Orin-Eilbeck is survived by her husband, her father, Aaron Slotkin, and her brother, Mark.

By GEOFF EARLE, RITA DELFINER and CYNTHIA R. FAGEN