Not only do I like this exchange between New York Times columnists Gail Collins and David Brooks, but I like it more than many of their columns. It’s not blogging. It is a conversation — or “The Conversation,” as the Times labels it.
It’s not that they’re finally saying what they really mean — in fact, they’ve both made essentially the same points in their columns, especially Brooks. It’s that their exchange is loose and human in ways that their published work isn’t.
I hope “The Conversation” affects their column-writing.
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Just as long as it doesn’t end like the Gene Hackman masterwork “The Conversation.”Who knew “Shirley” had it in her?
Maybe Brooks is best suited for this arena. I don’t particularly like his writing, but he does a really good job in his regular NPR appearances with E.J. Dionne. He represents his point of view, but he also freely criticizes the GOP when they deserve it. He comes across as reasonable and fair-minded. (Well, so does Dionne, of course.) Those “conversations” are precisely the opposite of the shouting headfests of cable news.
jvwalt: Agreed. For some reason, Brooks seems to be at his least subtle and least nuanced in his column. I like his column, but I like him more in other forums.