Bye Bye Bill.

Bill Kristol has been ousted from the Times Editorial Page. Props to the NY Times for finally ousting that stupid tired hack. I declare right now, categorically, if you think Bill Kristol was a good columnist, never speak to me again. Anyone thinking person who has ever read more than one or two of his editorials can reach no other conclusions than 1) Bill Kristol is an Idiot, or 2) Bill Kristol is very very very bad at his job.

Today's column: What the hell is this nonsense? Forget what you believe - This is AWFUL atrocious op-ed material.

Since Ronald Reagan’s election in 1980, conservatives of various sorts, and conservatisms of various stripes, have generally been in the ascendancy. And a good thing, too! Conservatives have been right more often than not — and more often than liberals — about most of the important issues of the day: about Communism and jihadism, crime and welfare, education and the family. Conservative policies have on the whole worked — insofar as any set of policies can be said to “work” in the real world. Conservatives of the Reagan-Bush-Gingrich-Bush years have a fair amount to be proud of.

And then he follows up with this gibberish...

We don’t really know how Barack Obama will govern. What we have so far, mainly, is an Inaugural Address, and it suggests that he may have learned more from Reagan than he has sometimes let on. Obama’s speech was unabashedly pro-American and implicitly conservative.

Obama appealed to the authority of “our forebears,” “our founding documents,” even — political correctness alert! — “our founding fathers.” He emphasized that “we will not apologize for our way of life nor will we waver in its defense.” He spoke almost not at all about rights (he had one mention of “the rights of man,” paired with “the rule of law” in the context of a discussion of the Constitution). He called for “a new era of responsibility.”

I would attempt to argue with whatever device he's trying to use to call say that Obama is stealing conservative ideas...but it's just so stupid that I think it's more a disservice to him to repeat his own words than to hold them back. Here's an interesting article on why he was canned. Turns out that sucking horribly alone won't do it.

In either case, I am very curious to see who they get to fill his spot. As I have said previously, I have generally liked all of the conservatives who filled the Times pages...William Safire was a very intelligent and sharp thinker, and I think David Brooks might actually be my favorite of the whole bunch these days. I don't really want to get into it because I just got home from work and would rather watch TV, but if you have a spare moment...these two pieces (1 2) are particularly good.

Anyhow, Fuck Bill Kristol.

(This was an exceptionally lazy and thoughtless post. But it's still not as bad as a Kristol.)