The Important Issues

Good to see Michael Gerson taking on the big issues like are text messages ruining America. He says they aren't: "The Internet, and texting in particular, has led to the return of writing." Of course that construction makes it sound as if "texting in particular" is a special case of "the internet," as in "the internet, and The Atlantic's web archives in particular, are full of people mocking Michael Gerson".

Comments

He R rite R.E. teh riting.

Posted by Alan in SF | January 26, 2008 3:26 PM

I think he should be writing more pieces about important issues like his thoughts on basketball.

Posted by Rid | January 26, 2008 3:59 PM

Hey Matt:

You linked to the last round of national general election polls showing Hillary faring better against McCain than Obama did.

So why not link to the new Rasmussen and NBC polls showing the opposite?

Posted by Andrew | January 26, 2008 4:38 PM

Gerson is wrong about texting. I think that writing came back way before, about the time people discovered that Sharpies are really good for writing on bathroom stalls.

Posted by Colatina | January 26, 2008 4:52 PM

I think you're being too charitable to Gerson. At least the The Atlantic's web archive represents a subset of internet content. Text messaging doesn't look like an internet technology anymore than voicemail does.

I'm sure that the internet would flourish if it was such on such a controlled network that ISPs could charge $1966/MB -- which is what AT&T rakes in at $0.15 to send and receive a 160 character SMS.

Posted by Matt | January 26, 2008 5:05 PM

How do you send out 100 million text messages saying "DUCK!!?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080126/ap_on_go_ot/dead_satellite

Posted by Don Williams | January 26, 2008 5:12 PM

That was cruel, Matthew. To me.

"POS," I'm told, means "parent over shoulder"

Ahmed Chalabi, I am told, is a "democrat".

max
['I always thought he was a POS, myself.']

Posted by max | January 26, 2008 5:33 PM

Speaking of asshole Michael Gerson, here's Fridays' column bad mouthing Ms. Clinton and saying that Senator Obama would make a more formidable candidate against the Rethuglicans. With friends like Gerson, Obama doesn't need any enemies.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/24/AR2008012402797.html?sub=AR

Posted by SLC | January 26, 2008 5:53 PM

Texting is certainly not the return of writing, if you mean "writing" in the positive sense of telling stories and/or articulating arguments.

Posted by Jimm | January 26, 2008 7:11 PM

The Internet, and texting in particular, has led to the return of really bad writing.

Posted by Shoshana | January 26, 2008 8:19 PM