TBogg » How can we miss you if you won’t go away?

By: TBogg Monday January 5, 2009 9:54 am

Normally you would find Shorter Bill Kristol here, but we’ve been beaten to the punch and this week you need context.

By the way, I thought his contract was up at the beginning of the new year.

Naturally, I asked Kristol about the rumors that he might be leaving the New York Times op-ed page after his contract expires next month. Did he expect to have it renewed?

"I don’t think I’ve had that conversation yet," he told me.

Okay — but would he like to have it renewed? "I’m ambivalent. It’s been fun. It’s a lot of work. I have a lot of things going on. But I haven’t really focused on it."

When he says he "hasn’t focused on it" I assume he means keeping the NYT gig and not, you know, actually being well informed on the topic at hand about which he is the Once and Future King of Fail.

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14 Responses to “How can we miss you if you won’t go away?”

jeffrobordine69 January 5th, 2009 at 9:55 am

A lot of work? A lot of work to produce those pathetic mewling columns once a week? I thought the guy did it while sitting on the can.

moondancer January 5th, 2009 at 9:57 am

He is so bad at writing and being correct that is no fun to beat the punk up and steal his lunch.

puravida January 5th, 2009 at 10:14 am

“I don’t think ~~I’ve had that conversation yet~~“

Isn’t that what you meant, Bill?

cobernicus January 5th, 2009 at 11:15 am

In response to jeffrobordine69 @ 1

One would have to be extraordinarily gifted (which Kristol is obviously not) to write something so bad without a lot of work. Perfection comes at a price!

ump902a January 5th, 2009 at 12:01 pm

If he hasn’t had that conversation yet, I’m guessing that the Times hasn’t been knocking down his door to give him a renewal. Bye bye Billy.

Hatmandu January 5th, 2009 at 12:01 pm

The truly frightening thought is if this is the product of Bloody Bill working hard, what would the output look like if he were mailing it it? See Dick Run?

thingwarbler January 5th, 2009 at 12:19 pm

I hear the NYT is liquidating assets these days — they just pawned their HQ in NY for some tidy sum. Couldn’t they sell Kristol to the highest bidder?

…

Nah, on second thoughts, it’d be like that decrepit rubber duck with the mold and bite marks that’s left on the table at the end of the garage sale. Not. Worth. Shit.

moondancer January 5th, 2009 at 1:00 pm

Can’t we just stop the madness with the “fair and balanced” myth? No one cares what wingnuts have to say, save the 12-15 people who visit Redstate and NRO weekly. Lets have the papers hire a clever,snarky liberal to sum up the collective thinking of nitwits. They will sound better and not embarrass themselves so much.

GregB January 5th, 2009 at 1:53 pm

Kristol? (Rummages through closet floor for aerodynamic footwear)

-G

JayBrida January 5th, 2009 at 2:47 pm

I’m ambivalent. It’s been fun. It’s a lot of work. I have a lot of things going on. But I haven’t really focused on it.

No!

I know this is infinitely snarkworthy, but let’s take him at face value for a second.

Can anyone, anywhere, say something like this and keep their job? Seriously.

Oh, hey, yeah, well, sorry Punch, but I know I’ve been putting out rote boilerplate ninnery for a year plus that hasn’t had a substantive fact or original thought in it, and sure, I didn’t tell you about my endless conflicts-of-interest, but what do you want from me?

I was stealing your money. What did you expect?

Also: can you just send me money in exchange for NOT writing?

Regards,

bill

The shiteating morons at the Times will re-sign him anyway. Failure can’t come fast enough for these idiots.

hackworth January 5th, 2009 at 5:32 pm

In response to JayBrida @ 10

You summed it up perfectly. Though Punch is fitting, I think that the name of the idiot captain of the Titanic that is the NYT is Pinch Sulzberger.

smilingdog January 5th, 2009 at 6:14 pm

It’s win-win for Kristol. Either his NYT contract is renewed with a big raise or they don’t renew it, in which case he plays victim and some wingnut welfare comes his way.

Lesley January 5th, 2009 at 6:16 pm

It’s “a lot of work” to get everything wrong all of the time? Who knew?

“I don’t think I’ve had that conversation yet,” he told me.

Either he’s had the conversation or he hasn’t but he’s on the money when he says he doesn’t think.

Marion in Savannah January 5th, 2009 at 7:46 pm