@farmerman,
I once bought a book featuring the Whitewater scandal, which is written by the Wall Street Journal's columnists. Then Robert L. Bartley was the editorial page editor of The Wall Street Journal, with his wingman Paul Gigot playing the supporting role at Journal.
Then the Journal also had veterans like Alan Murray and Nikhil Deogun. Alan Murray joined Fortune later on.
I don't even remember what they write in that book. I bought this book simply because people told me that then the Journal's editorial page was a much-followed one, thanks to its exceptional writing quality. I recall other liberals also lauding the Journal's quality journalism, notwithstanding its conservative political leanings .
The current editorial page seems to be a different one with new columnists; only Peggy Noonan still writes a column for the Journal.