CALLING DR. SANITY

Just when one has just about had it with the insufferablerati -types in this world whose blubbering is said to constitute "punditry," one of the types quits pontificating and just says something that brings a smile:

Andrew Sullivan, who is not tolerated nearly as well by the average person who reads him as he believes he doesn't tolerate those whom he considers fools (there's a reason certain people cannot be on TV on a daily basis, Rush Limbaugh. Even Bill O'Reilly has off on weekends), scourge of the "ignorati," the "nonpomp-arati," and the "trying to keep finding public ways to justify killing people even as you know there aren't any-rati" said just something a few days ago on his blogsite (which, alas, is now not a stand-alone site, but officially part of time.com. Sauce for the goose, as a great screenwriter said), titling one of his posts "calling Dr. Jonhson."

Could he have been referring to THE Dr Johnson, Samuel Johnson of England? Well, the article had to do with a dog that could apparently walk on its back legs.

Dr. Johnson made one of the most elegant retorts in history, one of which I never tire quoting, when,upon being called to pay a housecall to a family dog, he was asked by the owner to look at something the dog was doing - namely, standing on its hind-legs for seconds at a time. "What do you think of THAT, Doctor?" the proud owner of the dog asked.

"Well," Johnson said, smiling, "I must say, that it is not done well, but one is surprised to find it done at all."

The comment is often reported as the doctor's saying, "I must say, that it IS done well, but one is surprised to find it done at all."

Does it really matter which one he said?