Limerick : That Guy From Extreme

One of the amazing things about human constructions is their ability to approach rock bottom, and then crash right through. You would think, for example, that if you started with David Lee Roth as your lead singer it would be hard to get exponentially worse every time, but it was entirely possible. As Somerby notes today, the New York Times is providing further evidence. I mean, when you start with Maureen Dowd, how much more vacuous and self-absorbed could the column get? Alas, the answer is grim:

Earth to Limerick: Our “better angels” have been in trouble for decades; if a columnist gets a few naughty e-mails, the significance pales beside the decades of slime and hoaxing that have driven our national discourse. Limerick’s original (second) column was vastly simple-minded; in it, she reduced a large problem (a problem she didn’t really try to explore) to a personal matter between James Watt and Bill Moyers. But today, in Column 4, it’s all about her. Someone wrote Limerick some unpleasant e-mails. The rest of us have to discuss it.

The better angels of our nature have been on the run for decades. We all would gain if we saw this discussed. Why can’t the Times find subs who are able to perform such a service?

Final note: Will others join us in begging Collins to bring Dowd back as soon as possible? The previous fill-in, Stacy Schiff, had also dissolved into pointless self-reference by the time of her fourth (and final) column. And talk about complete vacuity! In her second column, Schiff explored a mighty theme; she complained that there are too many choices when you visit the toothpaste aisle. (No, we’re not joking; this was her topic.) By Column 4, she was discussing the way her view of Little Women had been criticized in TNR.

For the record, Laura Ingalls Wilder was exploring the perils of the new Product Culture as early as 1917. (In the Missouri Ruralist. Samples below.) Earth to Schiff: Everyone knows that we have too much toothpaste. And guess what? Nobody cares!

Are Schiff and Limerick the Revenge of Gail Collins? Are we all being punished now for the days when we criticized Dowd?

Of course, Safire to Tierney provides equally good evidence…