Talk:Jonathan Chait

Biased Journalism
A section should be created in the article for issues related to Chaits biased journalism. A prime citation should be tonights article about John McCain posted on the CBS News page. Chait is not fit to be a journalist or an editor. Never was a more manipulative piece written in a political column in recent history. (Christ Almighty conservatives have their heads far up their a*ses...)

65.101.228.185 (talk) 03:37, 25 September 2008 (UTC)

Sourcing
It seems that TNR's webpage is undergoing massive renovations, and most articles written a few years ago are unavailable online. Hence, I cannot easily link to "The Case for Bush Hatred", his post-2004 election article opposing Kerry, Dean and Clinton candidacies, his wife's article etc. I recognize that this article is terribly sourced right now but it will be easier to source when TNR's webpage renovations are complete.

I recognize that some of what I added about Chait's writing style and the like are subject to some interpretation, but I tried to make them as objective as possible. I think a little bit about Chait's positions and style are in order, the same way you would include such things in an article about an earlier journalist like Mencken or Zola. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Rotsapsky (talk • contribs) 18:01, 26 July 2009 (UTC)

External links modified
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 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20150613142402/http://gawker.com/punch-drunk-jonathan-chait-takes-on-the-entire-internet-1682078451 to http://gawker.com/punch-drunk-jonathan-chait-takes-on-the-entire-internet-1682078451
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20081013225911/http://bloggingheads.tv/search/?participant1=Chait%2C+Jonathan to http://bloggingheads.tv/search/?participant1=Chait%2C+Jonathan

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Iraq War
How is there not a mention of his support for the Iraq War on this page? That is such an important dividing line between liberal hawks and others, and a constant criticism of his world view. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 140.160.182.115 (talk) 21:51, 10 February 2018 (UTC)


 * Oh sigh, if you are going to tar and feather everyone forever with that, no one will remain. Lots of people supported it at the time. Unless he still supports it? Maybe that is what you meant? I don't know.--FeralOink (talk) 15:43, 17 May 2018 (UTC)

Redirects
I redirected Audacity (book) and Audacity: How Barack Obama Defied His Critics and Created a Legacy That Will Prevail to this article. --- Another Believer ( Talk ) 02:52, 14 April 2018 (UTC)

I redirected The Big Con and The Big Con: The True Story of How Washington Got Hoodwinked and Hijacked by Crackpot Economics to this article, too. --- Another Believer ( Talk ) 02:53, 14 April 2018 (UTC)

Date of birth and personal details
Online public records compilations (and a WSJ link) show that a Jonathan B Chait, living in DC, married to a Robin J. Chait, was born on 1 May 1972 and has a daughter, Joanna Miriam Chait, born 1 Jan 2004. Landline: (202) 537-17xx, mobile no.: (202) 391-80xx  email: jonathan.chait@netzero.net. Address: xx19 Nevada Ave NW, Washington, DC, 20015-1745 [tel no.s and address xx’d by me – but the full details are there in the link, free access.] I haven’t ID’d that this refers to the subject Jonathan Chait, or is verified – so it doesn’t yet go into the article, but it should surely enable someone to sort out some regular WP personal details.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2004/01/15/montgomery-births/84840d61-28f0-45cc-9395-89991de1833d/ https://nuwber.com/person/563a94117686b0176b93ce9f www.beenverified.com/people/jonathan-chait/ - 112.119.221.77 (talk) 18:34, 20 August 2020 (UTC)

Lede Misleading
The lede currently states "Jonathan Chait (/ˈtʃeɪt/) is an American liberal pundit and writer for New York magazine." In the American political vernacular, "liberal" is synonymous with "left-wing." However, there is debate about where Chait falls on the political spectrum. See, for example, | this review (titled "Dead Center") of Chait's book Audacity, which argues that he is a centrist. Indeed, Chait himself seems to identify more as a centrist than a liberal. From the linked article, quoting Audacity, Chait describes American liberals in the third person:

“Liberals found the experience of Obama’s presidency mostly dissatisfying,” he claims, “because they find power itself discomfiting”—part of a larger “infantile rejection of the compromises inherent in governing” that perennially dogs the left. The tone recalls Schlesinger’s, and Chait makes the connection explicit when he quotes The Vital Center on how idealistic liberals supposedly dislike “making concrete decisions and being held to account for concrete consequences.” Chait recruits the president to the team of pragmatic liberals, too. “Obama,” he writes, “has always located himself between the despair of the left and the obliviousness of the right.”

Others questioning Chait's self-identification are not difficult to find. | This Wall Street Journal Op-Ed is titled "Is Jonathan Chait Liberal?" and concludes that he is not. | David Frum, writing in the Atlantic, rather confusingly mixes and garbles the American colloquial liberal (in the sense of "on the left") with the more academic, political science sense of "liberal" (to be consistent, he should have used the corresponding colloquial term "classical liberal" for this sense), but nonetheless outlines the many ways in which Chait is fundamentally not on the American left, but is rather a centrist.

I would suggest reworking the lede to substitute Chait's political affiliation for the misleading ideological label (e.g. "Jonathan Chait (/ˈtʃeɪt/) is an American pundit and writer for New York magazine who generally supports mainstream Democratic candidates and policies.") or perhaps drop it altogether and allow readers to draw their own conclusions about the correct way to characterize him based on his notable works and stated policy positions.

Apologies if this is not the appropriate way of implementing this change, or if I should have cited my supporting sources differently. I'd appreciate any constructive criticism anyone has.

Best, J.R.R. Collier (talk) 17:05, 29 January 2021 (UTC)

Rufo Retraction
A retraction from such an important publication may represent a sentinel event in a journalist’s career, so this recent update to the subject’s Career section would seem reasonable in the absence of a dedicated Retractions section. I’m not aware that the subject has had many other retractions of this magnitude, but if he has, please let me know so that a dedicated section can be added to the main article.2001:44C8:4643:3CD2:B048:D89E:866E:EC8F (talk) 06:31, 17 July 2022 (UTC)