There are so many hard feelings toward the NY Times here at FR, that even when they publish a good column (as they do occasionally) no one wants to talk about it -- they just want to slam the paper.
What are you talking about? /sarc
But it's not a well-written column; he doesn't defend common sense or even discuss it. All he does is parade his academic knowledge. It's not a defense of common sense; far from it. It's a defense and advocacy of academic learning. The presumption is that he has common sense -- but never exhibits any. The NY Times can't ell the difference -- that's their problem.