from panopticist.com
Op-ed contributor John Tierney has published his final column on the op-ed page, lamenting that the election's Dem sweep will result in a Do-Nothing Congress even though they were partially a reaction to the already-existing Do-Nothing Congress. Though he contradicts himself at the end and the premise doesn't make much sense (the Democrats can do plenty in Congress, like issue subpoenas!), we'll let it go because of the little announcement he makes at the end:
This is my last column on the Op-Ed page. I've enjoyed the past couple of years in Washington, but one election cycle is enough... I hate to abandon my libertarian comrades here fighting in the belly of the beast, but this is the right moment to leave. After six years of libertarians reluctantly electing Republicans as the lesser of two evils, we've finally had enough. We've voted out big-government conservatism, and the result is the happy state of gridlock. For now, our work is done.
Er, right. At any rate, Tierney will be returning to the science beat (which means, hopefully, less Valentine's Day advice and more tuna) and — yes! blogging! — for the Science section.
In the meantime, no word on who will be filling his slot on the op-ed page; New York Times spokesperson Catherine Mathis said that there is no replacement scheduled "at this time." It's still quite some time before former Op-Ed page editor Gail Collins is scheduled to return to the page in July 2007, but editor Andrew Rosenthal did say that they were trying to do more with less space, so maybe they won't hire anyone at all. If they do, no doubt they'll choose someone who will be exactly what women want.
UPDATE: Rebecca Traister bids Tierney good riddance, and enumerates the reasons why. [Broadsheet]
(Hat tip: Penguins.)
