Rather than commenting on Bill Kristol’s provocative New York Times column today, “Will Obama Save Liberalism?”, I wanted to comment on the tag line: “This is William Kristol’s last column.”

For the Times, that is.

Bill Kristol will be heard from again and again, above all, of course, from his current perch at The Weekly Standard, but also, I gather, from a new perch at the Washington Post (where he will have a monthly column), as well as from his seat at Fox News and in other venues. He is easily among the most intelligent, creative, and articulate conservative voices in America–a fact, upon which I would be willing to bet a large sum of money, is what troubled the Times.

Kristol agreed to a one year commitment at the Times, and while there he offered views and facts to its readers that they otherwise didn’t get–and repeatedly made arguments that must have made Pinch Sulzberger’s skin crawl. That is a tribute to both the rightness of Kristol’s views and his unwillingness to temper them for the sake of the Times. Unlike, say, the Washington Post under the leadership of Fred Hiatt, at the Times, real intellectual diversity is something to be avoided.

It is not a state secret that the Times’ editorial page, apart from David Brooks, is almost unreadable. It has just become a good deal moreso. The good news is that Bill Kristol’s stock is in much better shape and higher standing that is the Times.

Bill Kristol will survive and prosper. I’m not so sure the same can be said about the New York Times.