I enjoy FR too. But I also appreciate that mass-media political pundits work under different conditions than FR posters.
Feel free to disrespect and even hate them. But don't pretend the one is the same as the other. A WSJ journalist is not expected to rise through the ranks of anonymous internet forums and blogs and win some sort of championship to prove their worth (though, come to think of it, I'd like to see what resulted from that).
I mix major-media punditry, good blogs, and Free Republic to find the best political commentary. Finding the right blend is the key, because their perspectives as well as the imperatives of their media are different.
Haven't you heard? Steyn is also persona non grata here at FR after a couple articles critical of Bush. Apparently, like many posters here, Steyn and Noonan are Moby plants. They've been staunch conservatives for all these years, but suddenly have become extremists.
Weird how that works...