Things that make me nauseated even as I laugh:
Dear [St. Louis] Post-Dispatch readers,
Starting today, Washington Post columnist Michael Gerson replaces George Will on Thursdays and Sundays.
Mr. Gerson, who grew up in St. Louis and still has family here, is a former speechwriter and top aide to President George W. Bush. (To answer the classic St. Louis question: Westminster Christian Academy).
Mr. Gerson had served as a speechwriter for Republican presidential candidates Jack Kemp and Bob Dole, and is a former senior editor at the U.S. News & World Report.
We believe that Mr. Gerson’s commitment to “compassionate conservatism” and his roots in St. Louis will better connect with our readers, regardless of their political bent.
The change has been under consideration for several months, but a column published June 5, in which Mr. Will suggested that sexual assault victims on college campuses enjoy a privileged status, made the decision easier. The column was offensive and inaccurate; we apologize for publishing it.
The best thing you can say for Gerson is that he’s willing to take on some of the pathologies in the Conservative Movement from time to time. That’s worth something, but he was also one of the main propagandists for the Bush administration. He will serve up a softer brand of bullshit for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch readers than George Will did, but it will still be sub-mental bullshit.
