Gruber Calls Piece by NYT's New Op-Ed Columnist "Cliché-Ridden..."

…here. But perhaps we can forgive him as he’s just echoing James Fallows in TheAtlantic.com. So I’ve decided to call them on it.

Here are the cliché’s I’ve found in William Kristol’s piece:

• “snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory”

And that’s it. I’m at a loss to explain where all the other supposed clichés are. And yet Fallows somehow thinks the entire piece is cliché after cliché. Perhaps I’m confused about the definition of cliché. So I looked it up, and you can, too.

Where are the trite or overused expressions? Can Fallows (or Gruber, who might give it a try) show me where Kristol’s expressions are used elsewhere? Is Kristol’s writing really that trite as to deserve condemnation?

OK, so he’s no Andy Rooney (thank goodness), but I’d have to say, Sorry, I just don’t see it. If I want more colorful writing, I’ll read the comic, thanks.

Guess I’d better get back to reading some real literature now.