Patrimony Controversy at 'Commentary'

Adam Bellow, son of Saul, thinks beneficiaries of nepotism make the best leaders because they know they have to work extra hard to prove their merit.

That will certainly be true -- the latter part, at least -- for John Podhoretz, editor-in-waiting of Commentary. Podhoretz comes from one of neoconservatism's First Families; his dad, Norman, edited Commentary for 35 years, and is currently advising Rudy Giuliani on foreign (ie. military) policy.

Podhoretz fils was tapped last week to replace Neal Kozodoy when he steps down in January 2008, and clearly some people in the Commentary orbit aren't happy about the appointment.

One "longtime contributor" tells the New York Observer:

A lot of people think John is a hack. He writes a well-written, entertaining tabloid column. He's written books, but the books are also very playful. The Commentary universe is meant to be a little more serious. Even his father had a Ph.D. in English literature.

And Jacob Heilbrunn, chronicler of the neocon movement, tells The New York Times that Podhoretz "isn't seen as a heavyweight intellectual....[H] is seen as being a beneficiary of his parents' fame in the George W. Bush mold."

Podhoretz had better hope he's up to the task, because the next editor will inherit a task arguably more difficult than anything his predecessors had to think about: restoring the neoconservative movement's credibility after the Bush years.