Andrew Sullivan

For a blogger, strangely I don't read a lot of blogs. I mostly stick to magazines and newspapers (online editions). The one blog that I read regularly is the Daily Dish, by Andrew Sullivan.

Andrew Sullivan is a 45-year-old British writer living in Washington DC. He has a PhD in political science from Harvard. He is Catholic and conservative. He is also homosexual and HIV positive. An unusual profile, to say the least :-)

Why do I read the Daily Dish regularly? I think it's primarily to do with the wide range of subjects the blog covers. Though Sullivan writes mainly on politics and current affairs, he also writes on other areas like religion and culture. Another reason is the unique insight he brings to each topic. Even when you don't agree with what he says (which is quite often), you will find his arguments interesting. A final reason is that his blog has a lot of links to other excellent articles. Some of the best stuff I've read on the web I found through the Daily Dish.

Of course, the blog is very America-centric. You won't find anything on India there. Even the viewpoint is a highly American one (which can be a little annoying at times). If you are OK with that, you will find the Daily Dish an enjoyable read.

Sullivan is not your usual American conservative. In 2006 he wrote a book called "The Conservative Soul", in which he accused the Republican party and the Bush administration of betraying conservatism. Today he is so pissed off with the Republicans that he is supporting Barack Obama in the US Presidential elections! In fact, he was perhaps the first pundit to predict that Obama could win the Democratic nomination – a prediction that looked insane at that time.

Sullivan's conservatism is, of course, Western conservatism – the political philosophy founded by Edmund Burke. One day I hope to write a post on Hindu conservatism, and how the two philosophies compare with each other.