Punditry Culture

Bob Somerby at The Daily Howler has summarized the Punditry Culture in three steps. I'm going to paraphrase slightly for clarity and, in one case, to amplify the thought. The concept and the steps are Bob's creation, though, and are brilliant.

First step: Pundit Culture often starts by bouncing around a bit, but soon arrives at some Widely Accepted Group Judgment; It is simple and cogent, for instance, "Arizona’s new law is no good."

Second step: Once that Widely Accepted Group Judgment is arrived at all attempts at analysis, clarification or explanation come to a halt. This is true whether the Widely Accepted Group Judgment is basically sound, or when it is completely and utterly absurd.

Third step: Replacing attempts at explanation or clarification, we are handed a solid dose of the pundit corps’ “Top This” culture. Once pundits have agreed that they’ll all voice the same Widely Accepted Group Judgment, be it sound or absurd, a pundit can only distinguish himself by voicing the Widely Accepted Group Judgment in increasingly colorful ways.