Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Ross Douthat Going to the New York Times

Ross Douthat (pronounced dow-that [soft "th"]) has been hired away from the Atlantic to become an op-ed columnist at the NYT.

The Atlantic's Marc Ambinder writes, "I think Ross is the sharpest, most innovative heterodox thinker of his generation, left or right. . . . And now, one of the greatest minds in the country has one of the world's best megaphones."

Douthat, born in 1979, converted to Roman Catholicism as a teenager and is a winsome voice on pro-life issues. For example, see his post yesterday responding to Michael Kinsley, Stem Cells and Moral Seriousness.

I check his blog nearly every day. This strikes me as a great move for Douthat and a great move for the Times.

Update: Sarah Pulliam reminds me that CT spoke to Douthat about evangelicals and the Republican Party back in October.