Tim Rutten

"When the social and political history of Los Angeles in the late 20th century comes to be written, it’s likely that two men will stand out as fundamentally transformative leaders. One will be , the five-term mayor who changed the city’s politics and realigned its economic course; the other will be Cardinal , the Hollywood-born prelate who has led what is now America’s largest as archbishop for the last quarter-century, a post from which he will retire Sunday on his 75th birthday, as church law requires."

"One of American politics’ most comforting nostrums is the notion that we always are united by far more than what divides us. It’s a sentiment repeats frequently in his speeches, and both the president and California Gov. are relying on it to help them move toward resolution of government’s worst budgetary crisis in generations. A comprehensive new survey of the American electorate by the nonpartisan , however, indicates that the most politically engaged Americans now are fundamentally opposed to compromise, divided on virtually every basic national question and separated from each other by everything from their race to the choice of where they get their news. Moreover, the increasing numbers of independents, who’ve theoretically pushed national politics to the center with their preference for middle-of-the-road policies, no longer are particularly moderate. California has traversed this sort of political landscape for more than a decade, and now the rest of the nation seems poised to discover that it’s a difficult and discomforting place."

"The Christian worldview teaches that there is a short tether binding beliefs to the values and behaviors that flow from them. If the beliefs are false, then the behavior will eventually — but inevitably — be warped...."

"... Mr. Rutten ... really does know what he's talking about when it's come to religion ... Not to make it too intimate, too warm or friendly ... the critical thing is this: what is most important to him is most hateful to me."

"During a 40-year career, Rutten moved seamlessly across The Times’ — city bureau chief, metro reporter, editorial writer, assistant national editor, book critic and columnist. He was part of The Times’ team of journalists that won the for the paper’s coverage of the . “Original in thought and lyrical in print, his work is witty, well-reported, passionate, yet staunchly nonpartisan,” Times staff writer Thomas Curwen wrote in the paper’s 2005 Pulitzer nomination of Rutten for commentary. Rutten used his “Regarding Media” column to untangle the complexities of L.A., the nation’s s and the eccentricities of s."