There's nothing like a presidential election to shine a light on the punditocracy. It's been a surprise and a disappointment to see how poorly New York Times writers have performed. While the ed side of the OpEd page is arguably stronger than ever, the Op side is in decline.
Nonetheless, let's start with the good:
Paul Krugman regularly delivers that most difficult of columns -- the polemic bolstered by a stout analytical framework. I'm not sure how well he's appreciated, even by liberals. There's no one like him, and there may never again be anyone like him.
Andrew Rosenthal has mastered the art of what I call guerilla punditry: He chooses his ground carefully, deploys his weapons, unleashes a withering fusillade, and then gets out. He's on the editorial board and so doesn't have a regular column, but he's always worth reading.
Charles Blow writes blunderbuss prose that at times obscures a consistently perceptive mind. Blow is young (42) and will only get better.
But then there's...
David Brooks has become dedicated to the proposition that there is nothing he can't rationalize. A lightweight's lightweight.
Frank Bruni covers politics like a food critic. Excuse me? That's what he was? Frank, so you can see how a cultural critic makes the transition to the op-ed page, don't write another word until you've read every one of Frank Rich's columns a dozen times. That's how its done.
Gail Collins Russell Baker she's not. Where Baker's extraordinary wit and graceful pen revealed the world from his unique perspective, Collins cracks jokes. Even I think there's a limit to how many time poor old Seamus can be made funny.
Ross Douthat writes with a deer in the headlights look. He's overmatched and he knows it. I suppose he can't turn down the check, though.
Maureen Dowd continually trips over her own snarkiness. More and more, her columns seem mailed in; only the perfidies of the Catholic Church engage her interest. On that score, it must be said that Dowd is a persistent and too often lonely voice of outrage.
Thomas Friedman Rarely has a columnist had such an enormous ego with so little cause. Sometimes, it seems like every other sentence begins with the word "I".
Ncholas Kristof God love him, he's right about everything. But his prose makes the microwave instructions for a frozen pizza read like Zadie Smith.
Joe Nocera Who?
Maybe this is indicative of the talent that's there and this is the best that the Tmes can do. The continuing excellence of their editorials suggests otherwise.