New York Times opinion editor Andrew Rosenthal lost all professional credibility when he hired “lightning rod conservative” Bill Kristol late last year and then — and then! — called Liberals “intolerant” for not accepting this “serious, respected conservative intellectual” as a particularly edifying addition. Well, Kristol’s one-year contract is almost up, and we’re amazed that Andrew Rosenthal still has a job. Any job. So what’s the fixin’ plan for 2009, Rosenthal? His answer: hire, uh, rock stars such as that U2 guy who cares about AIDS, The Bono. MORE »

Bill Kristol, the new conservative crown jewel of the New York Times‘ opinion squad, responded over the weekend to the criticism surrounding his hire. He said it was “amusing” to watch liberal bloggers — hey, we’re more or less that! — have their “heads explode.” Indeed, nothing casually amuses Bill Kristol more than heads exploding, particularly brown ones. Slightly more surprising, however, was the holier-than-thou defense by NYT opinion editor Andrew Rosenthal. My stars, what a self-righteous, harmless-but-slappy little man! He’s just like Frank Rich, but with a few extra tablespoons of Wrong. MORE »