David Brooks, Neoconservatives and Their Critics (Pt. 1 of 3)

As I said earlier, David Brooks seems to have put to rest any worries about excessive praise from liberals for a while.

Eric Alterman, one of the best known liberal critics of the media and author of What Liberal Media? (2003) returned to the Brooks column in his blog of 01/07/03:

David Brooks continues to take richly deserved hits here from Mickey Kaus and here from New York Times letter writers for his sloppy attempt to equate all criticism of Neocons with anti-Semitism, thereby insinuating that any criticism of anyone who is Jewish for doing anything is somehow beyond the pale. As one of those liberals who counted Brooks as his favorite conservative before he began his Times column, I too, am wondering what the hell has happened to his good judgment.

Bob Somerby of the Daily Howler continues to apply his unique combination of biting description with careful research and analysis to the now-infamous Brooks column. In his Wednesday installment, he researches what might have been one of the unnamed Web sites that Brooks used to make his silly argument. Somerby comments about the problems of using obscure Web site to make the kind of broad political point that Brooks attempted:

As everyone except Gail Collins [Brooks' editor at the New York Times] must know, you can find anything on the world’s web sites; any grievance you wish to nurse can be profitably nursed in this manner. Are these sites worth discussing in the New York Times? To state the obvious, no, they are not.

(Cont. in Part 2)