"It is clear that there are many in the American government who, while not being "guilty men" in sympathising with, and appeasing, the enemy were, at the very least, "negligent men". They deserve some sympathy. They were imperfect human beings in a world where September 11 was still an abstract. But we pay our politicians to assess the possibility of an actual threat. That's what they are there for. And, on that critical task, they failed."
One reason Sullivan is so effective as a writer, and as an advocate, is that he writes paragraphs such as the above. He restrains himself. He does not overstate. He gains credibility as a composed and intelligent man. He slowly makes his case adverting to the record from the public square, of which he seemingly has an encylopedic knowledge. And then seamlessly he goes for the malefactors' balls as it were. The effect is devastating.
When it comes to influence, Sullivan is worth a battalion of the usual Clinton haters. That is because his talents and discipline exceeds the sum of that of the battalion. And it is because he has a track record of calling them as he sees them, as honestly as he can, no matter whose neck is gored, or goose cooked. That give the man credibility when the rubber meets the road, and when it really counts.
Agreed. His "balance" makes him virtually unique among pundits( his "gay" writing notwithstanding).