This is about two months old and it's a copy of an entry on my livejournal. If you don't know who Christopher Hitchens is well this discussion will probably have no meaning.
On Friday August 25, on Bill Maher's new HBO show, Christopher Hitchens was guest along with Max Clelland and a fellow who wrote a book about the continuing war between the Shi'i and the Sunni, for primacy in the Moslem world. I've discovered that Hitchens has become the 21st century's William F. Buckley (a comparison he'd loathe). As Buckley was liberal's favorite conservative in the 1970s, so Hitchens has become the neo-con's favorite liberal. Hitchens rarely engaged with Clelland, the book guy nor Maher, and anytime he'd make a positive comment about the Bushies and the war in Iraq he'd be booed and jeered by Maher's audience (like duh!, he mistakenly thought Maher's studio audience was drawn from the membership of Young Republican's org.) and his response was flipping the bird to the audience and telling them to 'f*** off'. IMO, Hitchens wants to prove he still has an edgy style; OTOH, one could say he's become the talking head equivalent to Cartman. But a telling moment came when Maher brought up the topic of the Bush's political machine's habit of smearing anyone opposed to, or questioning of, their policy in conducting the Iraq war as a treasonous unpatriotic coward (example, Rep. Jack Murtha), Hitchens's immediate knee jerk response was "They never do that", oops now he stepped into it, former Sen. Clelland counters with 'that's exactly what they do and they did it to me'. Hitchens then tried to change the subject to how various groups have portrayed (examples moveon.org and the like) the Bushies as jack booted stormtroopers and brown shirts or as Mussolini or Hitler. So the discussion devolved to a school yard taunt of 'you do it too'.
AFAIK, this was the beginning of Mahers new series of shows on HBO, which besides the above discussed panel, had an interview with Elvis Costello. I'd give it a solid B; however Hitchens gets a C- or D+. Added, Hitchen's grade is based on his childish behavior and his inability to take his engagement with Clelland beyond the level of 'you do it to taraswizard Allan Rosewarne N9SQT/WDX6HQV Chicago area W/T forever, always Buffy fans Chicago my livej<i>Edited by: taraswizard at: 11/1/06 9:07 pm </i>
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