I have some news to share with you, and it is that I have decided to leave National Review. Starting next Monday, I will be the chief political correspondent for the Washington Examiner. Making the decision to leave has been extremely difficult for me, because my years at NR — I joined in the last days of 2000, just after the Florida Recount — have been a great pleasure. I’ve not only had a chance to work with the extraordinary people here, but I’ve also been given the freedom to cover and write about the topics that most interest me. That’s a real blessing.
I owe a debt of gratitude to Rich, Jack, Kathryn and everyone in New York, and to Kate, Ramesh, Jonah, Jim, Mark, and everyone here in Washington. You know how smart they are from reading National Review and NRO, but I can also tell you they are great colleagues. Most especially, I want to thank our readers. You are incredibly intelligent and well-informed, and over the years I have received thousands of thoughtful emails that broadened my thinking on all sorts of topics (and occasionally led to hasty corrections).
I’m leaving because the Examiner has given me a great opportunity to play a key role in the start of something new. They’re ramping up their coverage of politics in this new era, and I hope that in the future, in addition to your regular visits here to NRO, you’ll stop by the (soon to be new-and-improved) ExaminerPolitics.com, where my writing and reporting will appear daily. In the meantime, thanks again to all, and I wish you the best.