A Toast

Today is being celebrated as the 10^th birthday of Andrew Sullivan's blog The Daily Dish. As you may have noticed, I have a great fondness for the Dish, and link to it quite often. As such, I'd like to take this opportunity to talk a little about why I admire it so. I'm afraid anyone looking for a jokey article about some random pop culture reference will have to wait a little while (though, admittedly, probably not too long).

My first reason for enjoying and admiring the Dish so much is Andrew himself. He looks at issues from a unique perspective. He is British (living in America), Catholic, conservative, libertarian (by his own definitions of both terms), fiercely independent and gay. I use all of these labels, unhelpful in themselves, because they inform not only the issues he examines, but also the manner in which he examines them. In particular, he has written some of the finest articles on gay rights, and what it means to be gay, that I have ever read (here is a recent example). His writing has often chimed with my own personal interest and feelings, on issues such as the intransigence and populism of much of the right in America, the meteoric rise of Sarah Palin (he has a tendency to overestimate her, in my own opinion, but it's preferable to the alternative), the state of the Catholic Church, the resurgence of the Tories, the successes and failures of the Obama presidency so far and, of course, the splendour of beards (I cherish an ambition to one day wear a beard matching Sullivan's). Perhaps the most remarkable of these occurred last year, with the Iranian "Green Revolution; Andrew and his under-bloggers did an incredible job covering this momentous event, even managing to break down my usual cynicism and distance, and make me yearn and hope for the success of these remarkable young people. All of these issues are examined with a careful eye; the strains of his Catholic upbringing, his struggle with HIV and his Tory sympathies and studies in conservatism (he did his doctoral thesis in political science on conservative theorist Michael Oakeshott) are all regularly evident, and make his work both varied and forceful. The tagline "Of no party or clique" is debatable, but it is certain that blind allegiance has never been a quality one could associate with Andrew.

Andrew writes with the strength of his many convictions, and never abandons them. He is also, however, willing to admit when he is wrong; he airs dissent regularly, and often modifies his position in the face of a thoughtful rebuttal. He has drastically changed his position on such issues as the Iraq war; a progression of thought can be observed through the Dish's archives, which is pleasing in the sense that it depicts a man unafraid to back down and admit that he was wrong. He is also very skilled at analysing issues; some accuse him of being too emotional at times, which is a fair point, but he is nothing if not tenacious. He will not abandon a line of enquiry, even if this line is eventually exhausted fruitlessly, as with his obsession with the idea that Bristol Palin's ex-boyfriend Levi Johnston would reveal the dark secrets of Sarah Palin (an obsession, in fairness, which he strongly hinted was backed up by off-the-record testimony). He is both fair and tireless in his analysis of the issues that matter.

Yet the Daily Dish, over the years (and, in the interest of fairness, I should point out that I've only been a reader myself for about a year and a half, though I've been hooked for all that time) has become far more than just a place for a middle-aged bearded man to vent his thoughts and feelings; it has become a compendium of links from throughout the glory of the Internet. Andrew was one of the first political bloggers, and also one of the first to realise the capacity of the Internet. He regularly hosts such features as Mental Health Breaks (amusing or remarkable videos), clips from South Park (Andrew's a big fan, and a friend of one of the creators), a series of caustic satirical awards and, the popular favourite, "The View from your Window", wherein a reader sends in a picture from their window. This has been recently expanded into a book, as well as a weekly competition. Pictures come in from all over the world, a measure of how widely Andrew is read and respected.

For most of this article, I've been singing Andrew's praises (with, I hope, some justification), but the Dish is not his creation and possession alone. He has a team of four equally inexhaustible under-bloggers, who help to compile links, and run the blog when Andrew is away. Patrick Appel, Chris Bodenner, Zoe Pollock and Conor Friedersdorf are all talented writers in their own right, and their contribution to the Dish is almost as great as Andrew's. I am particularly grateful to Patrick and Chris, who have each aired e-mails from me, which brings me to my next point: the readers. Andrew often mentions how astounded he is by the contributions of Dish readers; something we have in common. Every kind of person imaginable reads the Dish, in every part of the world, and their thoughtful e-mails from their own unique perspectives are a vital part of the success of the blog, and always add colour an dimensions to a debate. In the past, Andrew and co. have run series based on reader submissions on late-term abortions, cannabis use and the impact of the recession, to name only the most notable and long-running. Every week, every day even, readers raise vital points or contribute to ongoing debates, and Andrew is wise enough not to give his own opinion on every single e-mail, but to let them speak for themselves.

A very simple point deserves to be made: even though when WAKE UP was originally written, I didn't even know who Andrew Sullivan was, without the Daily Dish I would never have created this blog. The success of the Dish has shown me what a blog can and should be, and, although it's a very different beast indeed from this humble blog, I would love nothing more than to emulate it. I've established a personal relationship with the Dish, generally checking it several times a day (any less, and it's surprisingly hard to catch up, such is the volume of posts). Often my first thought on reading some breaking news is "Oh, I wonder what Andrew has to say about this". It's interesting that I have such a personal relationship with Andrew, a man several decades older than me who lives an ocean away, whom I have never met and with whom I don't actually have a great deal in common aside from some shared interests; it speaks of how close Dish readers feel to the blog itself. You may notice that even I, who thrive on formalities, refer to Andrew by his first name; such is the closeness the blog encourages. It feels like a long conversation; the kind of fascinating conversation with a friend that can go on for hours without either party growing tired or lamenting the passage of the time.

Andrew wrote a wonderful summary of his blogging over the years late yesterday, so I'll leave the last word to him. Congratulations, Andrew, and let's hope you continue for many years to come.