Last week Politico amazed many by announcing "POLITICO hires first opinion writers." As Elaine wondered, what were all the writers Politico already employed doing if not writing opinions? They certainly weren't reporting. And what has Allison Silver been doing all this time because her title is "Opinion Editor"?
After the shock wore off, we were left with the choices themselves. The outlet that sees itself as to-the-minute (to the point of gushing) and a new model hired two people to be columnists and, did you notice, they're both men. They're both Anglo White males.
So Politico, the new and adventurous Politico, decides to hire two columnists and, in a country awash with Anglo White Male columnists, Politico decided to serve up exactly the same. In other words, Politico's turned out to be as much a "maverick" as John McCain. (Ben Smith can explain that's no compliment.)