Well of course none of us are perfect. A few interesting comments in the posts so far :
"I have nothing but the greatest sympathy for First Officers forced to button their lips and accept this crap from idiots in the LH seat."
The point that something is pedantic doesn't mean it is wrong. Captains are not normally promoted on the basis that they are "idiots". Perhaps you need to take a wider viewpoint and maybe that will come with more experience generally ? It is hard to make any meaningful comment on one persons reported experience or on one companies SOP's, since the the other persons viewpoint is not reported. I note that you appear to make a correlation with "Old" and "fool". There are many young fools as well and perhaps it is worth pointing out that, few of those old captains got to be old by being fools. Do you feel you might have an issue with age ?
"I know what you are saying! There is nothing worse than being criticized about a landing in extreme conditions only to watch the captain do an even worse job on the next sector knowing it would be bad CRM to make any comments! "
When I read this I wondered why the Commander was allowing the F/O to land in such "extreme conditions". It perhaps underscores the commanders faith in your ability ( though not seemingly recipriocated ?) or perhaps the conditions are only "extreme" from your viewpoint ? Generally speaking a commander would normally try and avoid placing the F/O as handling pilot at the more extreme parts of the operating envelope, as they have to answer for any consequences of such action.
"Sometimes when I look on my roster and find I’m going to be flying a 4 sector day with that pedantic idiot who preaches SOP’s but does not practice the preaching, not competent to fly a two crew aircraft and a damn right dangerous idiot, I then start feeling really unhappy with my job. This fool is the one who has no friends, and everyone in the Airline hates him. Yes we all know who he is and we have all flown with him"
Of course SOP's don't normally need to be "preached", they are the companys laid down methods for operating the "standard" procedures. You should be familiar with them and indeed thoroughly so. Given how unhappy you feel I am surprised you have not raised these concerns with the individual. Failing that you can raise them with another senior pilot such as your fleet manager or indeed anybody else you feel comfortable with. Clearly not "everyone in the airline hates him" as it would be very unlikely he would have attained his position and more importantly retained it, should that be the case. In any event the Captains job is not part of a popularity contest even though there is no reason why it shouldn't be enjoyable to fly with most if not all crewmembers. I would suggest rather than making yourself feel comfortable by placing yourself in your perceived "popular majority", you try and understand and adapt to this individuals style. It isn't always easy, but communication in its many guises often helps.
As other people have already said it isn't always easy in the left seat either ! However command brings with it extra responsibilities and tasks. It also places a pilot within the companies management framework. For some individuals that may place them in a perceived "box" that might account for behaviour that may seem pedantic to others. The captain may well have been subject to criticism in the past for something either he did or indeed allowed a First officer to do. He may therefore be very sensitive to certain behaviour or situations that others are not.
An individuals behaviour is often moulded by their own character and past experiences. It is probably worth remembering that as a First officer. Indeed like them or loath them, most "old" captains have been doing the job for some time, and doing it to their companies satisfaction. It is far better to learn from these individuals and filter what you value from what you do not. Being young, and or, being a co-pilot doesnt always make you right or pleasant either. It is a much harder job being a First officer because if you are good ( and I am assuming you are) you need to be a good adjutant and deputy manager to so many different characters, all of whom hold a position of authority. In my experience the best F/O's are the people who can do just that. They do it well, and themselves become commanders in the shortest timescale. Rarely do they bleat on about individuals they don't like as being "pedantic idiots" or " dangerous" or " we all hate him ". If there was any real justification for such comments the person making them would be bound to seek guidance as appropriate.
Perhaps a good new years resolution would be to make a determined effort to try and get on with the most difficult individuals. I suspect something could be learned from the effort. If not it will at least help you determine your own behaviour when in years to come you occupy that same seat and others think of you as a crusty Captain.