The New Guy

Now that Bill Safire is gone, the New York Times has named his replacement:

John Tierney, a longtime reporter for The New York Times, was named yesterday as an Op-Ed page columnist for the newspaper. His column will appear twice a week beginning in April.

Mr. Tierney, 51, joined The Times in 1990, and has been a general assignment reporter, a staff writer for The New York Times Magazine and a columnist. His column about New York, “Big City,” appeared for eight years, first in the magazine and later twice a week in the Metro section. Last year he wrote the weekly “Political Points” column during the presidential campaign.

I’d say there’s hope for the guy — he co-authored a book with the ever-witty Christopher Buckley. Then again, he also offered some odd advice to John Kerry last year.