I like William Safire, though I've been angry at him many times: it seems to happen particularly where his association with the New York Times is in evidence. He's absolutely fair game, in general.
Reading his (and Krauthammer's and Frum's) take on The Passion made me sad. There is a real divide here. I don't think Safire's take can be marginalized as simply the reaction of a faux-conservative, a New York Times useful idiot.