Nothing New Under the Sun Times

"Brazen" and pulsing with passion: "I hope to pump as much passion into these pages as the publisher and the editor will allow." The Sun Times Ms. Reed may be raising expectations a little too high. Are they going to have pictures in the editorials? Maybe a page 3 insert?

So they're admitting up front they're going to take the tired old leftist line no matter what, while claiming the past is the future:

How do you say no to making history? Several weeks ago, the publisher and the editor asked me to conceive an editorial and opinion section that looked like the future. [snip]

We are returning to our liberal, working-class roots, a position that pits us squarely opposite the Chicago Tribune -- that Republican, George Bush-touting paper over on moneyed Michigan Avenue. We're rethinking our stance on several issues, including the most pressing issue facing Americans today: Bush's war in Iraq.

(What a cliched view of the Tribune.) (And conceive?)

"Liberal, working-class roots", sounds like propaganda to me, not opinion journalism. Why read their editorials at all, they've already made their minds up, we might as well just read the Dems' talking points directly. They'll feature a "diverse" pastiche of the local Left. And as far as passion, liberals can bypass the Sun Times and go right to the Nutroots. Or elsewhere.

A return to the past indeed. "You won't be scratching your heads trying to figure out where we stand." No sirree. How can you get passionate about liberal bromides and a world view from the 1930's? All very romantic, but not news. Strum some Woody Guthrie, load up the old jalopy full of predictable and failed ideas.

Nothing new under the Sun Times masthead.

P.S. Will Jennifer still cover Barack? And what about Naomi. Stay tuned for the next installment. Music swells.

UPDATE: Former editorial page editor Steve Huntley in his new stint as columnist. Worth reading.