Visit　With　The　rise　of　the　neighborlyintransitive　By　William　Safire

“Vice　President　Chene y　has　a　com p letel y　o p en　door”to　members　of　Con g ress,said　the　Bush　counselor　Karen　Hu g hes　last　month　on　ABC's“Ni g htline．”“He's　alwa y s　available　to　visit　with an y　member　who'd　like　to　visit　with　him．”
Press　Secretar y　Ari　Fleischer　recalled　the　da y s　when　Georg e　W．Bush,as　g overnor　of　Texas,would“dro p　b y　and　visit　with　various　le g islators　of　both　p arties．”
John　McCain's　recent　g et—to g ether　with　the　Democratic　leader,Tom　Daschle,was　described　in　The　New　York　Times　as“Mr．Daschle's　hi g hl y　p ublicized　weekend　visit　with　Senator　John　McCain．”Elizabeth　Becker,a　Times　collea g ue,notes　that“the　p olitical　use　of　visit　with　is　ram－p ant．Not　visit　to,j ust　visit,and　rarel y　meet——alwa y s　visit　with．W here　is　it　from?”
The　South．　L y ndon　Johnson　used　that　venerable　Southern　Americanism　when　he　introduced　the　Votin g　Ri g hts　Act　of　1965，tellin g　a　j oint　session　of　Con g ress　he　was　g rateful　for　the　chance“to　reason　with　m y　friends,to　g ive　them　m y　views　and　to　visit　with　m y　former　collea g ues．”
W hat　does　the　p re p osition　with　do　to　the　verb　visit?It　milks　out　most　of　the　action,　makin g　the　verb　intransitive　and　chan g in g　its　tone　from　p ur p oseful　to　nei g hborl y．“To　sa y　that　John　McCain　visited　with　Tom　Daschle,”sa y s　Leonard　Zwillin g,g eneral　editor　at　the　Dictionar y　of　American　Re g ional　En g lish（DARE），“im p lies　a　friendl y　exchan ge　of　views,as　o pp osed　to　met　with,　which　could　j ust　as　well　su gg est　that　the y　had　a　flamin g　set—to．”
Visit　does　not　mean　visit　with．You　can　visit　a　p lace　or　a　p erson,but　y ou　can　visit　with　p eo p le　onl y．　In　his　1927“We,”the　aviator　Charles　A．Lindber g h,who　had　j ust　visited　France,wrote　of“Perr y ville,　Mo．，　where　we　visited　with　some　of　Klink's　friends．”
In　his　Webster's　Dictionar y　of　En g lish　Usa g e,E．Ward　Gilman　adds　a　nice　distinction:“To　sa y　that　y ou‘visited　with’someone　usuall y　im p lies　not　onl y　that　y ou　conversed,but　that　y ou　went　a　bit　out　of　y our　wa y　for　the　sake　of　some　friendl y　talk．”Senator　Wa y ne　Allard　of　Colorado　sensed　that　distinction　earlier　this month,thankin g　Defense　De p artment　nominees“for　takin g　time　to　dro p　b y　m y　office　and　visit　with　me　p ersonall y．”
Let　mo g uls　continue　to　take　meetin g s;let　confrontationalists　visit　im p recations　on　one　another;let　trustees　descend　on　colle g es　with　stern　visitations,and　let　Lad y　Macbeth　fear“no　com p unctious　visitin g s　of　nature,”but　remember———toda y's　successful　p oliticians　sailed　smoothl y　into　the　era　of　sweet,non p art－isan visits　with．