Noted columnist and television commentator Tucker Carlson has joined the Cato Institute as a senior fellow.

“I’ve admired the Cato Institute since I first read its publications, passed around like samizdat on my college campus,” said Carlson of his new affiliation.  ”When I moved to Washington, I discovered that my impression of Cato had been right: The people I met there were some of the smartest, bravest and most interesting in the city. While others are blinded by expedience or group think, Cato stands on principle, always. I’m honored to be affiliated with it.”

Carlson will use his initial time with Cato to focus on writing a book on the state of the American polity.  Through other writings as well as media and public speaking appearances, he will also seek to educate the broader public about how the libertarian philosophy differs from the standard liberal and conservative orthodoxies embodied in the two main U.S. political parties.

“Tucker Carlson is one of the most effective communicators of libertarian ideas in the nation,” said Cato founder and president Ed Crane.  “We are delighted to have him associated with Cato as a senior fellow.”

Carlson was co-host of the staple CNN debate program “Crossfire” and also had his own programs on MSNBC (“Tucker”) and PBS (“Tucker Carlson: Unfiltered”), as well as appearing regularly on numerous other news programs.  Though sometimes showcased by these networks as the “conservative” point of view, Carlson became a dependable critic of numerous Bush administration policies, including wasteful spending and the war in Iraq.

After graduating with a degree in history from Trinity College in Hartford, Conn., Carlson worked as a print journalist and went on to write for Vanity Fair, Policy Review, Esquire, The Weekly Standard, Reader’s Digest, The New Republic, The New York Times Magazine, and other publications.

Last month, noted civil libertarian Nat Hentoff joined Cato as a senior fellow.