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Contributors
Hugh Hewitt - Principal Contributor
Mr.
Hewitt is senior member of theOneRepublic & CaliforniaRepublic.org
editorial board. [go to Hewitt index]
 Changing
of the Guard
Replacing Safire...
[Hugh Hewitt] 11/18/04
With the announcement of William
Safire's retirement, the New York Times faces an important
choice: Will Safire be replaced with a center-right scribbler,
or will
the Times be content to let David Brooks carry the entire burden
of representing non-liberal America?
Given the paper's wildly left-of-center op-ed cast, it seems
likely that the Times will find a replacement for Safire. There
are five writers with the talent to hold down such an august
spot. Let's hope the Times is open to outside suggestions. In
alphabetical order, they are:
1. Jonah
Goldberg. Jonah's the
voice of traditional conservatism mixed with a very loud party.
He's connected and irreverent, funny and piercing. He'd be
the most controversial of the choices available, but he's the
only
New Yoker on the list.
2. Stephen
Hayes. Time and again, Hayes
has out-reported other center-right pundits, and would help
replace Safire's occasional
reporting forays. Like Safire, Hayes is also the sort of writer
you can imagine receiving phone calls from senior politicos
looking to float or smote an idea or an adversary, respectively.
Handicap for Hayes: He's tied to the Weekly
Standard, like David
Brooks.
Plus for Hayes: He's tied to the Weekly
Standard,
which means he's tied to pretty much every Republican source.
3. James
Lileks. Admittedly, this would be a bold and unexpected choice. It
would also be brilliant. Lileks is the best funny-serious
writer out there, and though he will curse me for saying so,
he could be the Maureen Dowd of the center-right, only funny.
Downside: The annual Hummels column. Upside: His output is
staggering when one adds up The Bleat, the Newhouse columns and
three a
week for the Minneapolis Star Tribune. The Times probably wouldn't
have to pay him for the work.
4. Peter
Robinson. This Hoover Institution fellow is a PBS host, a
former presidential speechwriter
(for Reagan – "Mr.
Gorbachev, tear down that wall."), incredibly well-read
and a William F. Buckley protege. Elegant. Learned. Old school
with talent to spare. Very New York Times. Everyone at the
paper would marvel at how someone as smart as Peter could be
a conservative.
Wears bowties.
5. Mark
Steyn. He's the best columnist working today, period. The
four above would probably acknowledge
this, and his limitless
output is just staggering. If the Times wanted to be the
best of the best, they'd do whatever it took to get Steyn's
byline
twice a week. Much of their readership would be aghast and
informed – exactly
the role of a columnist.
It will be
interesting to see what the
Times comes up with. Chances are it won't be another
Safire unless they draft from this list. tOR
§
theOneReublic Principal
Contributor Hugh Hewitt is an author, television commentator
and syndicated talk-show host of the Salem Radio Network's Hugh
Hewitt Show, heard in over 40 markets around the country.
He blogs regularly at HughHewitt.com and
he frequently contributes opinion pieces to the Weekly
Standard.
If It's Not
Close,
They Can't Cheat
by Hugh Hewitt
|
In,
But Not Of
by Hugh Hewitt
|
The
Embarrassed Beliver
by Hugh Hewitt
|
Searching
for God in America
by Hugh Hewitt
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