[I don't think I've ever seen Slate's "Today's Papers," a summary of the morning newspapers, come down on a columnist like this. There's something about Tom that shocks even devotees of objective reporting]
http://www.slate.com/id/2201299/
<quote>
In what might very well be one of the most pretentious columns in
recent memory, the NYT's Thomas Friedman says readers should take the
financial crisis seriously "because I know an unprecedented moment when
I see one." Friedman then goes on to say that "I've been frightened for
my country only a few times in my life," and they were all during
momentous events. This ability isn't something he gained with life
experience; it's apparently innate. "[E]ven as a boy of 9," he informs
us, "I followed the tension of the Cuban missile crisis."
<unquote>
Michael