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There's Method to Andrew Sullivan's Madness

... But conservatives, gays can't figure it out

By Wesley Oliver, Newser Staff

Posted Apr 16, 2009 8:02 AM CDT

(Newser) – At age 8, Andrew Sullivan asked his mother if God really was omniscient. Her affirmative reply terrified him: “Then there’s no hope for me, Mum.” Despite his success, conservatives, Catholics, and gay activists might agree—even though he belongs to each of their constituencies, Johann Hari writes in a More Intelligent Life profile of his friend and model-turned-blogger.

“I’ve never really had a place where someone didn’t dispute my right to be there,” says Sullivan. Hari credits him with pioneering blogs and supporting same-sex marriage before many gays. But Sullivan, who’s HIV-positive, finds his legacy in those he’s lost to the virus: “They’re my fuel. I’m a child of the plague, and I will never, never forget that.”

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Arriana Huffington, left, with writer Andrew Sullivan, arrives for Atlantic Magazine's 150th Anniversary celebration in New York on Thursday, Nov. 8, 2007. (AP Photo/Rick Maiman)

Religion is the subject of Andrew Sullivan's next book. (Getty Images)

Conservative gay writer and commentator Andrew Sullivan is happy being at war with his own side, Johann Hari writes. (Getty Images)

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Sometimes I feel like throwing in the towel and saying, Ok, I’m not conservative any more, if Bush and Palin are what conservatism means. But I believe enough to try to reclaim it from these people. - Andrew Sullivan

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There's Method to Andrew Sullivan's Madness