I fully agree with Timothy Noah. Barbara Ehrenreich ought to be drafted for a more permanent position in the NYT op-ed pages! (even though I dont think that is gonna happen) She has a certain eloquence and a flair that is often missing from the op-ed pages of NYT.
Sometimes you do get some wonderful writing (e.g. Nick Hornby on Marah), but mostly the columnists on NYT are just bland; shadow boxing with each others through the world’s most exclusive journalistic real estate.