A few random Tucker Carlson thoughts

A few times I was invited to be on the show, typically after I would write something on immigration.  I always refused, figuring I wouldn’t get fair treatment and would only feed a very unfair method of conducting the discourse.

I never have been a regular watcher, not of any news show, but I have seen him a number of times, often in other venues or homes, or I might pause when moving through the channels.  It struck me each time how remarkably talented and smart and energetic he was, while what he said was very often not smart at all.  (I’ve heard the same about his core smarts from a few different people who knew him when he was younger.)  It also struck me how fluently he could coin an attack phrase, maybe better than anyone else but DT?

It is now increasingly debated how much he meant the different things he was saying, for instance about the last presidential election.  And was it smart to put criticisms of Fox management into texts?

The biggest lessons here are cautionary ones.  First, the biggest stars can do some very unwise things, and eventually so many of them do.

Second, “the right wing” should pay heed to the reality that many of its most talented representatives go down such dark paths.  Since most (non-right wing) people are reluctant to admit Carlson’s extreme talent, this point does not always come up.  Carlson, of course, was doing very well with his chosen path, and he still has the option of doing very well again.

But in which directions will the constellations of the audience and of fame point him?  Which exactly was the guiding star he lacked?