Ross Douthat, a rare conservative who both appreciates Hollywood and isn't afraid to admit that he loves the Oscars:
"I was even expecting to be irritated by Brokeback's inevitable victory - not because Ang Lee, Heath Ledger and Co. didn't deserve it, but because a win for the gay sheepherders promised to usher in weeks, or months, or even years of blather about how Brokeback's Oscar win was a watershed moment on par with the publication of Uncle Tom's Cabin, or the bombing of Pearl Harbor, or maybe the night when Edward R. Murrow beat Joe McCarthy to a bloody pulp on national television, before signing off: "Good night and good luck, suckah!" (Clooney cut that scene to get a PG-13 rating, I assume.)"Except that Brokeback didn't win - and here's the really bad news: Not only is Crash's win an awful vindication for hackery, it means that Paul Haggis will be allowed to make just about any movie he wants for the next five to ten years. And if they're all as "great" as Crash and Million Dollar Baby . . . well, then it's going to be a long, long five to ten years for the moviegoing public."