According to this report from Marc Ambinder, The New York Times has chosen Atlantic senior editor Ross Douthat as the paper's next op-ed columnist. This is a terrific choice, and not just because Ross is extremely smart and clever. Ross is also a conservative Catholic who cares about social issues and is passionate about a number of subjects that are generally ignored or played down by most other Washington DC establishment conservatives (think Krauthammer or Kristol). He also enjoys writing about movies and sports and literature, and God knows the Times could use some columnists who do not write the same column twice a week.
In short, the Times made a very, very good decision.
--Isaac Chotiner