The Gerson Article

Yesterday I mentioned The Atlantic's forthcoming Michael Gerson story, and now the print issue is in subscribers' hands and the article's been placed free online for non-subscribers. Check it out. The piece is by Matthew Scully, who worked for Gerson is the speechwriting shop.

It's a fun read for the bitchy insider dish, but it does raise some serious questions. Gerson, according to Scully, built up his glowing media coverage primarily by lying to reporters, notably including The Washington Post's Bob Woodward, but also a broader crew. Now, of course, instead of whatever fate one might expect from a key aide to a disastrously failed president, Gerson is a certified member of the Establishment, penning columns for the Post from a perch at the Council on Foreign Relations. Is that really the sort of person the Post opinion pages want to be employing? (I mean, it probably is, but it shouldn't be).

UPDATE: Not free! I lied. You should really consider subscribing -- at $2.45 an issue (and the issues are long) The Atlantic is, when you think about it, astoundingly cheap and full of great content.