Kristol Wraps NY Times Gig

He's done, and says dawning Obama era may mean his fellow conservatives are, too

By Kevin Spak, Newser Staff

Posted Jan 26, 2009 11:14 AM CST

(Newser) – The “conservative era” in US politics is over, and so is William Kristol’s stay at the New York Times. “All good things must come to an end,” the conservative writes in today’s column, his last, calling Jan. 20 the official end of the right’s ascendancy. Of his own departure, he says nothing, save for a modest note at column’s end.

Kristol is unapologetic—“Conservatives of the Reagan-Bush-Gingrich-Bush years have a fair amount to be proud of”—but he realizes conservatives rose in part because liberals were weak. Barack Obama isn’t weak, and, based on his inaugural address, “he may have learned more from Reagan than he has sometimes let on.” It was “unabashedly pro-American, and implicitly conservative,” reminding Kristol of another liberal president: FDR.

[Images (3)]

[Quotes (4)]

Bill Kristol of the Weekly Standard on NBC's 'Meet the Press' September 3, 2000 in Washington, DC. (Getty Images)

President Barack Obama speaks about jobs, energy independence, and climate change today at the White House. (AP Photo)

Conservative William Kristol's last column appears in the New York Times today. (New York Times)

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Conservatives have been right more often than not—and more often than liberals—about most of the important issues of the day: about Communism and jihadism, crime and welfare, education and the family. - William Kristol

Since Ronald Reagan’s election in 1980, conservatives of various sorts, and conservatisms of various stripes, have generally been in the ascendancy. And a good thing, too! - William Kristol

Can Obama reshape liberalism to be, as it was under FDR, a fighting faith, unapologetically patriotic and strong in the defense of liberty? That would be a service to our country. - William Kristol

If Reagan’s policies had failed, or if he hadn’t been politically successful, the conservative ascendancy would have been nipped in the bud. So with President Obama today. - William Kristol

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Kristol Wraps NY Times Gig