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Gail Collins Writes The Worst Op-Ed of 2008

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miss_msry
11/24/08

In reply to Gail Collins Writes The Worst Op-Ed of 2008
Banal? You don't know banal until you've read Lisa Falkenberg in the Houston Chronicle. She makes Aunt Sooie's weekly column from Knob Noster, talking about who killed the largest snake last week and who is visiting from the metropolis of Booneville, look like Pulitzer material.
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ellagood
11/23/08

In reply to Gail Collins Writes The Worst Op-Ed of 2008
who?

i have a bigger problem with the Style section each Sunday.

a few weeks ago they featured parents who are so "green" that they won't drive enough of a distance to take their sons to little league.

last week, they "reported" on the plight of editors at Playgirl.

they draw the topics out of a baseball cap, right?
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Mo MoDo
11/22/08

In reply to Gail Collins Writes The Worst Op-Ed of 2008
Gail Collins is Maureen Dowd translated for the remedial class.
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Mackintosh-Toffee
11/22/08

In reply to Gail Collins Writes The Worst Op-Ed of 2008
This Gail Collins hating piece just seems like a desperate attempts at obtaining heightened page views by ramping up the comments. Sure Gail can be predictable and a bit cringe-worthy at times (today's column is not one of her better creations) -- but she is also capable of bone dry wit and ironic turns of phrase unlike many of her over-earnest of her colleagues.

Alongside Krugman, Gail Collins is the least of the Times Op-Ed's problems. And sometimes she is downright rad.
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skahammer
11/22/08

In reply to Gail Collins Writes The Worst Op-Ed of 2008
You know who's really dreamy is that Paul Krugman.

Krugman. He's dreamy. It needed saying.
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Choire
11/22/08

In reply to Gail Collins Writes The Worst Op-Ed of 2008
Oh my God, whaaaat? No. And no.

I can actually prove that you are wrong because you called it "a long column." Do you know how long that column was? It is 813 words.

Your post about how bad and long her column is? 396 words. And you said a lot less.
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BeRightBack
11/23/08

@Choire: This is the new house style on the weekends.
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bjonston
11/22/08

In reply to Gail Collins Writes The Worst Op-Ed of 2008
Come on, man.
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bjonston
11/22/08

@bjonston: Come on, man.
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Trixie from Toronto
11/22/08

@bjonston: Come ON, man!
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Anna
11/22/08

In reply to Gail Collins Writes The Worst Op-Ed of 2008
Alex, I'm surprised you are having a go at Gail. Sure, not every column is great - and she's predictable - but she can be quite funny. If you want to beat up on a Times columnist, please take a look at all of Bill Kristol's columns. As for Worst Op-Ed of 2008, I think you will find quite a few strong contenders on the website of the National Review. Here's one to get you started:

[article.nationalreview.com]

Anyway, I think the format/length restrictions of the Times Op-Eds - and those in other papers, for that matter - do not lend themselves to a lot of creativity... or surprises. What do they have...800-1,000 words? Once they're done introducing the subject matter, they're already halfway there.
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Peter Feld
11/22/08

In reply to Gail Collins Writes The Worst Op-Ed of 2008
Frank Rich? seriously? I mean, of the hundreds of thousands of words he wrote this year, was there a single one that was unpredictable? "McCain = Bush's third term." "Palin is an idiot." "Obama is God." Not that I object to his politics (though the Hillary-bashing got pretty insufferable in the primaries) but -- their best columnist?
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Trixie from Toronto
11/22/08

@Peter Feld: He's had some really smart columns lately. The one on the future of the Republican party last Sunday was great, as was the one about the myth of widescale white racism a few weeks ago.

I love him, even if he is at times predictable.
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eatsshootsleaves
11/22/08

In reply to Gail Collins Writes The Worst Op-Ed of 2008
I don't know, I thought the column was funny and cute. And oh my God, we're talking about the New York Times opinion page, Gail Collins is not by FAR the worst thing on it.

You think Gail Collins simply writes up the conventional wisdom of the day? Here is David Brooks having an orgasm over how well-qualified Obama's cabinet is so far, what with their fancy Ivy League degrees.

[www.nytimes.com]

Here's Roger Cohen. His last four columns were about Hope.

[www.nytimes.com]

[www.nytimes.com]

[www.nytimes.com]

[www.nytimes.com]

Here is the link to every Maureen Dowd column ever written:

[topics.nytimes.com]

I leave you with these words of wisdom by William Kristol in my nominee for the REAL worst Op-Ed of 2008:

"[McCain's victory] would be a victory for the future. With President Bush's approval rating at about 25 percent, a McCain triumph would mean Americans were making a judgment on two future alternatives, not merely voting on the basis of their resentment at the past performance of George W. Bush. It would mean voters were looking ahead, not back. Liberals should therefore welcome a McCain win as a triumph of hope over fear, of the future over the past."

[www.nytimes.com]

So stop picking on nice old Gail Collins!
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Baroness
11/22/08

@eatsshootsleaves: Every William Kristol dropping is The Worst Op-Ed of 2008. Scientifically and forensically, it's been confirmed, he's the king of mouthy, dangerous wrongness.
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mmstk101
11/22/08

@eatsshootsleaves: Good point. Her articles are clearly not earth-shattering (either in terms of ideas or insights), but they are surprisingly funny and clever.

I like her!
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Shelwood
11/22/08

@eatsshootsleaves: Hooray, I am not alone in my hatred of Richard Cohen. He's such a tunnel-visioned asswipe.
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i'm a bottle
11/22/08

@eatsshootsleaves: Excellent list. Thanks for taking the time to compile these.
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bjonston
11/22/08

In reply to Gail Collins Writes The Worst Op-Ed of 2008
As they say on ESPN,

"Come on, man."
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registered
11/22/08

@bjonston: And right back at you, BJ. If you had a point, you failed to make it. C'mon.
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bjonston
11/22/08

@registered: Come on, man.
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Helman
11/22/08

In reply to Gail Collins Writes The Worst Op-Ed of 2008
I cannot believe you are having a go at Gail Collins in lieu of MANY of the other op-ed writers.
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dinahshore
11/22/08

I think we should stick the hating the Friedmans and Dowds of the world and lay off the people who are just seem so gosh-darn nice.
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Helman
11/22/08

@dinahshore: The thing about the internets is that it's hard to know sarcasm from sincerity. But I will assume the former. Gail Collins is no worse the either Frank Rich or Bob Herbert. In fact, I don't even bother to read those two since it's always clear what they will say about whatever the headline is. At least Gail C. surprises occasionally. If if you are bashing the gosh-darn nice folks, why not have a go at Nicholas Kristol?

Team Gail.
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dinahshore
11/22/08

@Helman: Sorry, there was no sarcasm there! I would totally join Team Gail with you. Facebook group?!
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PandoraSpocks
11/22/08

@Helman: Well, her writing is incredibly average and her choices of topics is incredibly average, which makes her probably waaay overpaid for what she does.
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Helman
11/22/08

@PandoraSpocks: I don't disagree, I suppose, but why single her out?
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ddukbokki
11/22/08

@Helman: do you mean william kristol or nicholas kristof?

[kristof.blogs.nytimes.com]

reading posts making fun of columnists if fun (esp dowd and kristol), but once kristof is included, i will definitely stop reading gawker.
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mmstk101
11/22/08

@dinahshore: I'm in too!
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i'm a bottle
11/22/08

@Helman: Yeah, true dat.

Sure Gail Collins is a little stodgy, but she has her moments. Rip on Bill Kristol, please. He really needs to be taken down a few pegs. A complete flack in every way, shape and form.
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J.D.Regent
11/23/08

@ddukbokki: um, really? I thought Nick Kristof was the columnist most hated across the ideological spectrum. Don't you remember when he "adopted" that sex slave?
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krismry
11/22/08

In reply to Gail Collins Writes The Worst Op-Ed of 2008
Let's face the horrid truth! Awful columnists are everywhere, Mencken is dead and even Mark Twain died, the world of columnism is deteriorating beyond repair, and Alex is right, these new people need to stick to blogs!!!1!!!
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Trixie from Toronto
11/22/08

@krismry: The problem is newspapers give too many people columns when they can't figure out what the fuck else to do with them. I have seen people get columns because they don't like reporting. Hey, motherfucker, if you don't like reporting, get out of the business.

The best columnists are the people who reported for 25, 30 years, and who actually still get out and talk to people rather than opining from their living rooms.
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jasonelias
11/22/08

In reply to Gail Collins Writes The Worst Op-Ed of 2008
Certainly it could do with some editing, but I've seen way worse.
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If_I_Had_a_Poodle
11/22/08

In reply to Gail Collins Writes The Worst Op-Ed of 2008
most banal column in the history of the op-ed genre?

i see a contest here ... this was truly weak but surely there are more worser ones ... start with anything by bill kristol
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registered
11/22/08

@if_i_only_had_a_heart: Amen.
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