Writing on Twitter, Jordan Weissmann of Slate has some observations about conservatives and prose style: William F. Buckley (“dreck”), the Weekly Standard (overrated) and me (overwritten). Poor Ta-Nehisi Coates never will be forgiven for once saying in public that he enjoys my writing. Some people disagree. In response to an unusually dull piece of mine a few years ago, the late Mike Potemra said: “That’s okay, Kevin. Even Tom Wolfe doesn’t try to write like Tom Wolfe all the time.” That was a good line. Potemra had a gift.


I’ve never heard anyone remark on Jordan Weissmann’s writing one way or the other.