Pundit Boxscore for Monday 19 April 2004

THE PUNDITS RESPOND: On Friday I e-mailed the note asking about their role to as many active Lying in Ponds pundits as I could find an address for. I skipped Paul Krugman, because he has already made it clear that he does not see himself as a partisan columnist. I've received three thoughtful responses so far. The last note is from Clarence Page (CP). Here they are in their entirety:

Columnists are people who are entitled to their own opinions but not to their own facts. So long as they get the facts right, it doesn't matter whether they are "partisan" or "independent," though personally I think the independent ones are more interesting.

Sebastian Mallaby
The Washington Post

Dear Mr. Waight,

Anybody who find the inspiration for the name of his web site in one of the most hilarious skits Monty Python ever did is okay in my book. But shouldn't it be "Lying ABOUT in ponds?" (My own all-time favorite MP bit, not that you asked, is "The Architect," in which a guy hired to design a block of flats shows up with plans for a slaughterhouse.)

To answer your question, I consider myself an independent observer of generally conservative/libertarian leanings. On matters of American politics, that tilts me toward Republicans more often than Democrats, but I have never hesitated to criticize Republican politicians or administrations when I thought they deserved it. I have likewise not hesitated to sing the praises of a Democrat, when it seemed appropriate to do so.

I don't think very many American commentators would describe their job in partisan terms, but every survey of the US media that inquires specifically into partisan loyalties shows a lopsided tilt toward liberal Democrats. My own experience during 16 years as an opinion journalist is that the great majority of writers and editors in the newsroom generally vote Democratic. That lack of ideological and political diversity doesn't matter so much on the opinion pages (where I write), but it is a big problem on the news pages

Thanks for giving me a chance to spout off. Now I'm going to go see if any moistened bints are lobbing scimitars today.

All the best,

Jeff Jacoby
Op-Ed columnist
The Boston Globe

Thanks for your note, Ken, I view myself not as a "political columnist," but "social commentator" who inevitably finds things worth discussing in the political realm. I'll take your first (of 3) choices. I am an independent who leans to the left but my world view cannot easily be described by one word like liberal or conservative. I have voted for Republicans, for example, who were willing to meet me halfway on important issues. Those who view Liberals and Conservatives as two gangs, always in a fight like Crips and Bloods, complain that I am not dependably on their side. That's their problem, poor devils.
Cheers,
CP