Since I was in Asia at the time, I missed the news that
Ross Douthat is going to be a columnist for the
New York Times. I think that's an inspired choice, with merits comparable to my own unsolicited recommendation of
Heather Mac Donald. (Here's a
debate between the two of them about secular conservatism.) Douthat's rise gives me a glimmer of hope for the right's future, compensating for the dread I feel at the ratings surge of the
malevolently clownish Glenn Beck.
Incidentally, I do notice that commuters on my NJ Transit line are considerably more likely to be reading the
Wall Street Journal than the
Times, but now I see some basis for at least checking in at the NYT website more often than I have lately.
My generally favorable review of Douthat and Salam's
Grand New Party
is
here, by the way.
