As usual, Kos nails it. His first two examples are none other that Bill Kristol.
http://thehill.com/opinion/columnists/markos-moulitas/65067-pitiful-punditry
I just got here. This is an easy question. Publishers pay for Kristol’s columns because they want to run his stuff. They like it. They like him, the crowd he attracts, his opinions. Some combination of the three.
Now, he is wrong frequently, and frequently disastrously wrong. But have Jon Stewart interview him on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, and he is charming in a way that eluded Bob Novak any of that crowd.
Mostly I think it is because he is a pleasant fellow writing opinions that they like. I don’t think he personally has a following amongst the reading millions.
Personally I find it false charm, driven by the fact that he always has that goofy-assed grin plastered to his face – like he just shit his pants and he’s digging the squishiness.
And yet not everyone shares your warm, wet and disgusting interpretation. Personally, I will never see the man again without thinking of your anal y sis. I see it as a “we all know I’m lying but let’s be polite and pretend I’m the real thing” kind of smile. It’s fake, but still if I had to choose between putting up with Cheney or Kristol and their bullshit, I’d pick Kristol
He is a Fox pundit. There is no competition there, they simply put on who they want. There is no market . When he comes on Sunday morning political talks, I always wonder why. Does he have any fans?
You must have a strange definition of charming. The giggles like Wilmer the gunsel in The Maltese Falcon. He’d drive me up the wall even if he was a liberal.
But better than Novak and Cheney is not exactly a high barrier.
Perhaps for the same reason some people pay good money to be tied up and beaten?
He’s successful because his surname begins with the letter ‘K’. This makes him sound heavyweight.
I am going to throw an alternative theory.
He’s Jewish, and he’s a very strong pro-Israelite. That goes a long way for clunks like the NY Times.
Other than that, I have nothing.
Yes, but he is the among the best they’ve got these days.