Sunday, August 28, 2005
The Chris Hitchens takedown
Christopher Hitchens was an amusing polemicist right through the nineties, best remembered for his scathing criticism of Henry Kissinger and Mother Teresa. Since 9/11 though, Hitchens has come completely unhinged and has lost touch with reality in a way that would make Donald Rumsfeld seem sane. With all the fervour of the newly converted, he has gone around accusing anyone who disagrees with President Bush of being unpatriotic and worse. And for the most part, Hitchens gets away with calling skeptical Americans names.
Until he ran into Jon Stewart last week, that is. Now, I've always known that there is tremendous political astuteness hiding under that self-deprecatory humour that Stewart employs to such great effect. Even so, I was surprised by how effectively he dealt with Hitchens' arguments. I think you owe it to yourself to head over to the Daily Show site and watch the full clip of the Hitchens takedown. The fun begins about 7-8 mins into the clip. As Alex Tabarrok puts it, "Hitchens knows he has been beat and can hardly wait to escape at the close."
Until he ran into Jon Stewart last week, that is. Now, I've always known that there is tremendous political astuteness hiding under that self-deprecatory humour that Stewart employs to such great effect. Even so, I was surprised by how effectively he dealt with Hitchens' arguments. I think you owe it to yourself to head over to the Daily Show site and watch the full clip of the Hitchens takedown. The fun begins about 7-8 mins into the clip. As Alex Tabarrok puts it, "Hitchens knows he has been beat and can hardly wait to escape at the close."
