JONATHAN CHAIT OCTOBER 12, 2010
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Andrew Sullivan was my editor when I came to TNR as an intern in 1995. We did not agree on matters political. The Republican Revolution was in full spring, and Andrew thrilled to it, his only skepticism centering on whether the Republicans would truly have the guts to slash Washington bloat.
That wasn't how I saw things. But Andrew published many articles by me, including several unsigned staff editorials. As certain as he could be in his own, he was never so certain as to stop somebody else from expressing a dissenting view. And he was an enjoyable, lively presence, frequently swapping wisecracks with the interns and roaring with laughter. That's the kind of person he is. He cares deeply about politics, but politics, appropriately, isn't everything to him. That's a sensibility I've admired and sought to emulate. You can't go through life being angry at people for being wrong.
There's a line from the Godfather Part 2, in which Hyman Roth explains how we swallowed his anger at the murder of his friend Moe Green: "This is the business we've chosen." Opinion journalism isn't la cosa nostra, but it is a contentious business, and especially so opinion journalism blogging. I've always admired Andrew's ability to maintain, alongside his fierce, crusading opinion-mongering, a constant good cheer and capacity to keep his ideological crusades in their proper place. This is the business we've chosen.
I can't say Andrew wielded much of an ideological influence over me. But he influenced something that is more important than ideology.
6 comments
Well, Roth does try to have Michael Corleone killed. So maybe he doesn't fully swallow his anger. dcat
- dcatsam
October 12, 2010 at 1:04pm
Good tribute. Sullivan's blog is a daily must-read for me.
- ATuring
October 12, 2010 at 1:26pm
- Billie Holiday said it: "I never hurt nobody but myself and that’s nobody’s business but my own.".
- michaelg
October 12, 2010 at 1:46pm
This is a very nice post, Jonathan. Andrew at his best has the largeness-of-spirit that you describe. But also, he has exchanged one set of obsessions for another, even as he says his blog has matured. The certainty is still there, however leavened by humor and the realization that politics isn't everything. He is still apologizing for his "Fifth Column" comment; perhaps that is a diversion for the need to apologize for his anti-Israeli animus at present. He is forever addressing homophobia in this country but he never tells us what it is like for a gay man in the Gaza Strip. For all of its flaws - and what country does not have them? - Israel is a democracy, with a free press and vigorous debate and the rule of law. My long-time friend Tom P., who I met when I took philosophy and logic and ethics from him in college in 1974, told me a couple of years ago about listening on the radio - maybe on NPR (Tom is a veteran NPR listener) - to a gay Palestinian who took refuge in Israel because he was terribly persecuted in either the West Bank or the Strip, I forget where now. So Israel was a safe haven to him. You won't be reading about such things on The Daily Dish because Andrew has decided that Israel is bad, whereas he used to celebrate Israel. Beware lurching moralisms; I suppose beware moralisms in general, but particularly lurching ones.
- liberal reformer
October 12, 2010 at 1:53pm
I too enjoy AS's blog, and he does seem to possess a certain cheerful disposition. But the man has the habit of being so profoundly wrong about the major issues of our time, from GWB (he supported) to the invasion of Iraq (he favored) to Ron Paul (he supported) to HCR (he opposed), and to pivot when even he cannot deny his error, it's a wonder he doesn't suffer whiplash. But I suppose it is a sign of intelligence to admit error, even when it is frequent. While some found his last book (Conservative Soul) a weak defense for the frequency of his changed positions, I accepted it as a good faith effort to explain his Tory way of thinking. And to his everlasting credit, once revealed he has been a tireless critic of torture and those who support it.
- rayward
October 12, 2010 at 2:50pm
I am a huge AndrewSullivan.com fan. His one man Blog is better than most magazine sites (ahem...). I have been reading TNR for 20-25 years now and remember Andrew's stewardship well. Certainly better than most of the editors at TNR over the years. Now that TNR is fortnightly, it's more important to put out a good edition, but they just don't have what Andrew and the old crew had in a week, back in the day. I remember using my Windows 3.1 Gateway Computer to get onto Compuserve and comment on the articles, long before the TNR website was around. One of my comments circa, 1995, was that Andrew's writing while excellent was too focused on Homosexual themes. Duh' 15-20 years later on his own site, we know what to expect. I really thought Andrew was the choice to replace Tim Russert. He has a very good political mind, but maintains a wide area of interests and walks a straight line in Journalism. Thansk for noting his milestone. Speaks well of both of you.
- CRS9TNR
October 12, 2010 at 8:18pm