Patterico's Pontifications

9/9/2008

How Long Will this Suspicious Hiding from the Media Continue??

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 6:48 am



By Andrew Sullivan, that is.

Until yesterday, the man was a hysterical publisher of approximately 50 posts a day mocking Sarah Palin. Reflecting his tireless journalistic diligence, these posts mostly consisted of a long block quote — perhaps from Wikipedia, or if he was feeling particularly energetic, from Democrat opposition papers. The block quote would be accompanied by one or two breathless lines about how he was stunned, or gobsmacked — or how he found the whole thing jaw-dropping . . . or incredible. Just incredible.

Nobody could deny that the Atlantic was getting its money’s worth.

But on Sunday night, he published a paean to Sarah Palin’s courage in having Trig, linked a New York Times puff piece about her pregnancy, and has been curiously silent since — with only one post yesterday, a picture from somebody’s window.

I can’t do constant mockery without fresh material, people.

How long will this suspicious hiding from the media last?

UPDATE: Via Ace comes word that Sullivan is taking a few days off. Ace notes: “In fairness being a hysterical piece of sh[offending vowel removed by Patterico]t that spreads vicious rumors about children is tiring work.”

Indeed.

So a guy who has been on a relentless jihad against Palin is taking a few days off, with less than 60 days to go in the election, and Palin’s first interview just around the corner.

Nothing odd about that . . .

39 Responses to “How Long Will this Suspicious Hiding from the Media Continue??”

  1. I used to read Andrew Sullivan. It is sad to see him become so biased. McCain is the most centrist of all the men who were running for the Republican nomination, and still much of the left cannot make reasoned arguments against his positions. They have practiced the craft of character assassination for so long they can’t deal with their opponents rationally.

    tyree (7a25f8)

  2. Well, he didn’t do any fund-raisers, so he didn’t go on vacation…

    Scott Jacobs (a1c284)

  3. You don’t suppose that someone at The Atlantic finally stepped in and put the kibosh on all of the craziness? Nah…

    Dmac (e639cc)

  4. A commenter at Matthew Yglesias ..

    Has anyone heard if Andrew Sullivan has been fired from the Atlantic for his Palin coverage?

    Neo (cba5df)

  5. Dmac, I wonder if their new advice column was inundated with What The Atlantic should do with Sully advice??? They may have chosen the most inopportune time to open up such a column…

    That Other Dana (084de8)

  6. Likely someone noticed that trashing Sarah Palin only resulted in producing more support for her and the GOP ticket. Democrats are slow on the uptake, but after a week or so the better educated ones do begin to catch on.

    Ropelight (49e412)

  7. Obama’s people finally got one of their goons to listen and stop the insanity and lies, tis all.
    What will they do is they all stopped at once, go into stasis? One can but hope.

    Sue (4d3ef7)

  8. Maybe he died from embarrassment?

    Kevin (22139e)

  9. Maybe he took his editor’s advice. I’m guessing there’s an adult or three on staff at The Atlantic.

    “Step away from the keyboard, Andrew.”

    Chris (6b9f67)

  10. Good Lord!

    Now what will I do?

    A Reader (6c3271)

  11. I suspect that Dana’s link to the advise column had something to do with it. Or, they sent him to Alaska.

    JD (5f0e11)

  12. per Marc Ambinder, the official story is that Andrew is taking “a few days off” …

    ….
    ….

    to go moose hunting,


    heh.

    BumperStickerist (6c3271)

  13. The Thunder Run has linked to this post in the – Web Reconnaissance for 09/09/2008 A short recon of what’s out there that might draw your attention, updated throughout the day…so check back often.

    David M (447675)

  14. Maybe they asked Sully to check to make sure he’s getting enough oxygen from that devise he has to strap on his head each evening – something to do with sleep apnea, I recall.

    Dmac (e639cc)

  15. I still think he’s sick. Maybe somebody at The Atlantic noticed.

    Mike K (155601)

  16. His last missive about the NYT’s article sounded like he was disappointed and knew it made him look like a goof for clinging onto Trig is Bristol’s son for so long.

    He was loosing it. I bet the management TOLD him to take a few days off.

    Topsecretk9 (56ffdb)

  17. I really dislike the intellectually dishonest way that Andrew Sullivan has been posting recently.

    But I hope that we can all agree that, if Sullivan is indeed getting sicker (being HIV positive is no party), we can wish him well.

    This is what I hope can draw a major distinction between the Modern Right and Modern Left: the former thinks of its opponents as misguided, but the latter think its opponents evil.

    I am still angry at what Mr. Sullivan has posted recently, but I hope that he can see the error of his ways and return to journalism. And I genuinely hope that he is not sick.

    Eric Blair (36c1a9)

  18. But I hope that we can all agree that, if Sullivan is indeed getting sicker

    I think they meant “sick in the head”…

    But I agree, if the HIV is kicking into high gear, that is a complete shame. It still wouldn’t earn him a pass for his recent whack-jobbery…

    Scott Jacobs (a1c284)

  19. Of course, Scott. Sullivan should be responsible for his own words.

    I just want to avoid “my” side doing that nasty business where you wish ill on a person with whom you disagree politically. Like the Left did with Tony Snow, for example.

    By the way, I am having trouble posting entries where I include links. If it is just me, okay. But if it is happening to other people, I thought I should mention it.

    Eric Blair (36c1a9)

  20. That happens now and then… Occationally one of the Powers That Be will rescue stuff from the filter…

    And trust me, I dodn’t care for people who speak ill of the dead/dying/sick.

    Scott Jacobs (a1c284)

  21. Since “Milky Loads”/”Power Glutes” (as AceOfSpadesHQ.com has so fondly re-christened Sullivan) is oh so fond of ascribing the absolute worst beliefs, motives and behavior to anyone he finds even slightly politically distasteful…

    I’m going to venture my own educated guess that AS is enjoying his few days of vacation slipping roofies into underage boys’ sodas and going “barebacking” in LA.

    qdpsteve (dc65ab)

  22. Scott, I didn’t think you were one of those ghouls, who I see a lot more on the Left than the Right. But at the same time, I am glad that you made clear that illness isn’t a blank check for Sullivan (if that is what is going on). He writes the words, he needs to be responsible for them (and responsible in general).

    Steve, I am sending you an e-mail.

    And please remove that webcam from Sullivan’s beagle, okay? It’s creepy (grin).

    Eric Blair (36c1a9)

  23. Someone has a webcam on Sully’s “beagle” ?!?!?!

    Good Allah, what is wrong with you people ?!?!?!

    JD (3f9019)

  24. Did George Orwell take a day or two off during Hitler’s rise to power?

    Of course he did.

    Geez.

    relax, people.

    BumperStickerist (6c3271)

  25. A pause in the war while they game it out. Specifically, which ‘hits’ do they want to plan as ‘late’ i.e. the last week of the election where the rebuttal never challenges the reach of the sensational charge?

    Bel Aire (2fd7f7)

  26. A pause in the war while they game it out. Specifically, which ‘hits’ do they want to plan as ‘late’ i.e. the last week of the election where the rebuttal never challenges the reach of the sensational charge?

    Bel Aire (2fd7f7)

  27. A pause in the war while they game it out. Specifically, which ‘hits’ do they want to plan as ‘late’ i.e. the last week of the election where the rebuttal never challenges the reach of the sensational charge?

    Bel Aire (2fd7f7)

  28. Maybe Sullivan has gone underground as a secret “community organizer” to report on their gritty work of maintaining the social fabric of this nation.

    Perfect Sense (9d1b08)

  29. #25, if it were anyone else other than Sullivan, I would agree with you. Full disclosure: I do not know him personally but am simply making a judgement based on his writing and all its nuance – he doesn’t strike me as the sort to slip off quietly to contemplate life. Quite the contrary, I think he loves the attention and misplaced adoration of the masses too much to do anything of the sort.

    Dana (084de8)

  30. There are any number of things that could keep him from posting for a day or three; I hope that he recovers well and promptly. It just won’t be the same without him (and think of the whining if he awakens the day after the election, no matter who won!)

    htom (412a17)

  31. I hope he is not physically ill. His mental capabilities have long been in question.

    JD (3f9019)

  32. I don’t think speculation on his condition is necessary, when it’s equally likely that he was given a Time Out by his superiors at The Atlantic.

    Karl (5b0077)

  33. Andrew Sullivan’s blog sorta reminds me of this girl I know who has battled crack addiction for years. She’ll have periods where it seems she’s getting her life together, gets a job, re-unites with her family and friends. But she can’t quite entirely get away from the wrong people and they tempt her to go down the wrong path again. Then when something happens that she doesn’t know how to handle, she’ll run off to these people for a few weeks, until finally she starts calling everyone she loves from county jail, saying she relapsed, begging for forgiveness and support. Its harder to forgive her each time.

    Sullivan’s blog is often an ok blog for long stretches (sure, lots of annoying stuff in any case, but nothing to call him insane over). Then he relapses and goes on these binges. This one set off by the fact McCain made a VP pick that gave McCain a fighting shot of beating Obama, and Sullivan doesn’t just want Obama to win, he has a major crush on him (he’s even blogged about Obama’s astrological sign). Will the Atlantic Monthly bosses arrest him for what he’s doing to their neighborhood? Will he beg for forgiveness?

    The problem with forgiving a crack addict or Andrew Sullivan is that when they do go on their binges they don’t seem to care about the damage they’ve done to others.

    I won’t forgive Andrew Sullivan until he apologizes for his character assasination campaign, which went so far over the top in its unfairness and hatefulness towards Governor Palin and her family that I’m not sure I could ever respect or trust him as a blogger again. But, if he’s willing to put himself through another public soul-searching period on his blog and confess to his sins, I’ll consider whether he deserves forgiveness.

    Sullivan, during his binge, was quite convinced this was going to be a historical moment in the blogosphere when bloggers (led by him) would force McCain to dump Palin. This backfired on him 100%. Hey, it happens. What’s truly sad, though, is how he destroyed his own name and reputation in the process by taking it all too far. He should be ashamed of himself (again).

    FranticFlintstone (9b6725)

  34. Oh, and I’m a subscriber to the Atlantic magazine. It’s a good magazine that I don’t wanna cancel, and moreover I’m not the type who wants to cancel subscriptions or boycott things. In this case I’ve decided to send the magazine a warning letter to get him show some integrity in his blogging. I have no problem with them having a writer who is very partisan and is going after people I like. I simply request basic standards of inegrity and ethics. I don’t think any reasonable person can go back over Sullivan’s last few weeks and find him to have been an ethical blogger.

    FranticFlintstone (9b6725)

  35. Now, what to make of his newest posts? “Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent” and a “mental health break” from Desperate Housewives (what do you think he intends by THIS clip?) LOL

    FranticFlintstone (9b6725)

  36. There is one up denying he was told to write or not write anything.

    The timestamp says it was published before the other two.

    Was it?

    Patterico (cc3b34)

  37. I was just on Sully’s site. There is some cryptic comment about a mental health break and a clip from Desperate Housewives. If that makes sense to anyone, please enlighten me.

    Sean P (e57269)

  38. Stay away, Sully! Stay away!

    Icy Truth (8731ef)


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