Andrew Sullivan has announced that, after fifteen years, he is quitting blogging.
Sulivan, who self-identifies as a conservative, has been a force in the political blogging world for a long time. He has been for me, alternatively, maddening and heartening.
A few words below the fold...
I personally came across Sullivan around the time of the invasion of Iraq. In the beginning, Sullivan seemed like a typical neocon. But then, something happened. It turned out that Sullivan, unlike most neocons, could accept the evidence of his eyes and change his mind. Which he did, early and loudly. Sullivan was, and still is a strong opponent of torture, which further separated him from his former allies.
He has been strong in many other areas:
1. An early detractor of Sarah Palin.
2. An early supporter of Barack Obama.
3. A strong and vital voice on gay rights.
4. A Catholic who wrote with passion about sexual abuse in the church.
I have plenty of disagreements with Andrew. I will not go through them here. Not because they are not important, but because it is not what this moment calls for. While I have never subscribed to his blog, it has been on my blogroll for a very long time. Sullivan took me back to a time when conservatives cared about being intelligent, intellectual and actually were willing to honestly debate.
I wish Andrew well in his future endeavours.