Bono Joins Op-Ed Page of NYT

Ex-Bush speechwriter Frum heads pack that may include Noonan, Limbaugh

(NEWSER) - At the New York Times op-ed page, William Kristol is out; that leaves a spot open for another conservative to keep David Brooks company, writes Michael Calderone in Politico. Times editor Andy Rosenthal wouldn’t comment, but Calderone has guesses on a replacement:

1. David Frum: The former Bush speechwriter and National Review contributing editor is working on reinventing the GOP at NewMajority.com.

(NEWSER) - The New York Times has found its replacement for William Kristol’s column from the right—Ross Douthat of the Atlantic. Douthat, 29, will start mostly online next month but will eventually appear on Mondays opposite Paul Krugman, reports the Columbia Journalism Review, quoting a Times email. He’ll also blog for the paper, which he’d been doing for the Atlantic. More»

(NEWSER) - Bono waxes eloquent about Frank Sinatra and the life lessons he learned from the Chairman in his debut column today for the New York Times. Among other things, he contrasts an early boastful recording of "My Way" with one Sinatra made late in life that is filled with remorse. "To what end? Duality, complexity. I was lucky to duet with a man who understood duality, who had the talent to hear two opposing ideas in a single song, and the wisdom to know which side to reveal at which moment." More»

Pro-Palin camp fed columnist 'a constant stream of poison'

(NEWSER) - As Bill Kristol used his New York Times column to relentlessly praise Sarah Palin and simultaneously blast the McCain camp's handling of her, he was far from an objective observer, writes Scott Horton in the Daily Beast. Kristol regularly received inside information from the McCain team's pro-Palin contingent, then used it in a series of increasingly critical columns. "Simply put, the pundit meddled in the campaign he was commenting on," says Horton. More»

Gail Collins hits back at the Donald

(NEWSER) - Last week it was apparent that there's no love lost between Donald Trump and New York Times columnist Gail Collins , but this week it's all-out war. Seems the Donald responded to Collins' column, which tweaked him as a loopy birther, with a letter to the editor tweaking her in turn as a no-good hack for writing "nasty and derogatory articles about me." "Actually," Trump writes, "I have great respect for Ms. Collins in that she has survived so long with so little talent. Her storytelling ability and word usage (coming from me, who has written many bestsellers), is not at a very high level." Snap! More»