… and Stephen Green fisks the effort. It has always struck me that Sullivan’s approach to US politics differs when he’s writing for non-US media compared to his blog or articles he pens for other American outlets. It therefore doesn’t surprise me that his move to Kerry was unveiled in a British newspaper. Although he is entitled to his view and dispensing advice to voters, I question the Kerry overture and its timing, as it flies in the face of most of what he has argued about Bush and Kerry over the past few years. If anything, if you would extrapolate Andrew’s thinking then a vote for Bush – no matter how much you dislike him for abandoning real conservative positions – would be crucial in cementing support for the pro-active approach the president has taken in the War on Terror. That war is the core challenge of our time and a point reiterated almost daily on, yes, the Daily Dish. To take Andrew’s advice and throw our weight behind Kerry because of the (failed) FMA, Abu Ghraib and the budget would send the wrong signal to the outside world as it would imply that the American voter clearly repudiates the efforts in especially Afghanistan and Iraq. By supporting Bush, voters this year will support the War on Terror, which with all its flaws and problems, is in far better hands of the diligent, committed, experienced and focused Bush team. That has been Sullivan’s argument until very recently, and now he shifted his support in an uninformed way (we still have to see what comes out of this week’s DNC in terms of policy positions) to a man whom he despised only a number of months ago.

I started reading blogs during the 2000 Florida recount when I saw Sullivan on CNN and to this day he remains my first port of call in the morning, or late at night when his next-day posts are up. That will continue unabated, he’s a great writer and I agree with most of what he says but his latest move, in Andrew’s own words, seems a little unhinged.

UPDATE: Andrew responds, Katie has a great round-up of reactions across the sphere and over at Michelle's there's a debate over Andrew's pledge week. I have always pitched into Andrew's pledge drives as part of my round of Christmas gifts and will continue to do so, his debate generating capabilities alone are worth quite a few bucks.