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SundayStyle's avatar

As a Lefty northeastern urban type I of course subscribe to the New Yorker, and I was salivating when I saw Chotiner had interviewed Douthat. It seems to be common knowledge when Isaac Chotiner calls you up for an interview, the wisest course of action is to purchase a new identity, move off the grid, and keep your head down until he loses interest. So I assumed Douthat, in his hubris, was walking into a bear trap.

What a disappointment! I wouldn’t exactly call it a tongue bath, but either Douthat was too slippery for Chotiner (hard to believe), or like the New Yorker profile of Rod Dreher from a couple of years ago, the mission was to Both Sides neo-reactionaries so they appeared house-broken and de-fanged. A great disservice to readers.

And yeah, Douthat is no “liberal whisperer.” Anyone who falls for his schtick was never very left of center to begin with.

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Derelict's avatar

I sometimes imagine Douthat's interview with the NYT editorial board before they granted him his sinecure on the op-ed page:

NYT: We've read some of your stuff, and we think you're terrific!

Douthat: "I hate you all."

NYT: We'd like you to consider writing a regular column for us.

Douthat: "I'd like you all to die in a fire."

NYT: We'll pay you absurd amounts of money for each column.

Douthat: "I think the NYT should be burned to the ground."

NYT: That's the spirit! When can you start?

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