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Tuesday, Nov 23, 2010 7:01 PM UTC

No. 14: David Ignatius

The Washington Post columnist distinguishable only by his deep respect for warmongering senators

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Topics: War Room's Hack Thirty, War Room,

No. 14: David IgnatiusDavid Ignatius

The Washington Post’s David Ignatius is David Broder’s evil twin brother. They pen nearly identical columns, and both subscribe to the reigning Beltway definition of “moderation,” but Ignatius engages in Daddy-worshiping even more often than Broder. Daddy, as always, is an old conservative. But not the sort of conservative who actually appeals to real people. The Ignatius ideal would be a Congress and cabinet made up entirely of Joe Liebermans and John McCains.

He is a steadfast believer in the importance of fiscal responsibility (which invariably means the gutting of the social safety net) and defines partisanship as “Democrats not conceding the debate to Republicans.”

This son of a former secretary of the Navy and lifelong elite Washingtonian never misses an opportunity to lavish praise on a graybeard from the middle of the country who hates the way Washington is run. The sad thing is, Ignatius’ expertise is supposedly foreign policy, which makes his respect for warmongering numbskulls like John McCain and Joe Lieberman even more inexplicable than David Broder’s.

Repeat offenses: Radical centrism, hatred of partisanship/democracy, Daddy-worship, refusal to acknowledge own status as member of Washington Elite.

Representative quote:

I wouldn’t really wish the Tea Party movement on anyone, but the Europeans could use some of its passion about fiscal responsibility.

(Bonus: “Rumsfeld’s replacement should be someone who can help restore a bipartisan consensus for a sensible Iraq policy. One obvious candidate would be the centrist Democrat Sen. Joe Lieberman.”)

Alex Pareene

Alex Pareene writes about politics for Salon and is the author of "The Rude Guide to Mitt." Email him at apareene@salon.com and follow him on Twitter @pareene More Alex Pareene.

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We're listing the worst columnists and cable news commentators America has to offer. Think of this as our all-star team -- of the most predictable, dishonest and just plain stupid pundits in the media.

1. Richard Cohen
2. Mark Halperin
3. Thomas Friedman
4. David Broder
5.

Marty Peretz
6. Marc Thiessen
7. Jonah Goldberg
8. Maureen Dowd
9. Laura Ingraham
10. Peggy Noonan
11. George Will
12. John Fund
13. Roger Simon
14. David Ignatius
15. Mort Zuckerman
16. Michael Barone
17. Bill Kristol
18. Tina Brown
19. Joe Klein
20. Howard Fineman
21. S.E. Cupp
22. Tucker Carlson
23. Howard Kurtz
24. Dana Milbank
25. Mickey Kaus
26. Jeffrey Goldberg
27. Pat Caddell
28. Andrew Malcolm
29. Matt Bai
30. David Brooks

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