The Influence of Andrew Sullivan

Ross wonders if Andrew Sullivan is the most influential political writer of his generation. I humbly submit that my grandmother, who votes in every election, has never once in her life heard of Andrew Sullivan.

I'm not going to argue that Sullivan hasn't been influential. Douthat and Tyler Cowen rightly point out that Sullivan's crusade for gay rights has been both effective and important. And in general terms he obviously is a popular writer, Obama even reads him.

But outside the beltway...Sullivan's name and influence start to wane. And I have to wonder if all these writers and political journalists and political bloggers, all having their parties together and hanging out in their swank apartments where they all talk with and about each other...they have a skewed notion of what influence is.

I remember in high school there were these two kids that were really popular: Ky and Cameron. In fact they were so popular that even at the other high school in town they were respected. But go any further away than that, and no one had ever heard of Ky or Cameron. Nor did anyone feel it necessary to respect them.

Andrew Sullivan has his moments. Even at its worst, his blog is entertaining. But how can Ross et al. call Sullivan the most influential political writer in his generation if he can't even get enough subscribers to support his site?


_