Hitchens Vs. Alterman Debate Part 1/6 'Is Hitchens Wrong About Everything?'

[thechadwasgreat]

the daughter who came in as he started should be Sophia, who is, by the way, hott.

[nyomythus]

Rattling ice asshole rattling ice asshole!

[writersblock26]

@mrtapoche1 So you dislike people who are Jewish simply because they are Jews? Then I guess you must dislike Christopher Hitchens, too (and yes, he has identified himself as an ethnic Jew.)

[xkoenigseggx]

@mrtapoche1 You know considers himself a Jewish athiest?

[MrPoxman]

Azadeth666L: The religous generally are ingnorant hypocrites to sum up your point.

IE: A chrisitan leaves church then crosses the street to avoid homeless people while hanging out with their recently divorced girlfriend while poo pooing the idea of universal health care and increasing social secuirty for the poor.

[Rammagith]

@MrPoxman That doesn't sound like a religious person, but rather a person who believes he is religious bc he was born a Christian family, goes to church, and tells others how Christian he is. He probably also wears a necklace with a cross on it to reassure himself of his devout piety. That is all bullshit, and they are just lying to themselves. Anyone who is truly a Christian cares about all life and the poor, and Christian charities aid tens of millions of people a year worldwide.

[Rammagith]

@MrPoxman Also, your claim that it is hypocritical for a Christian to be against un. hlth care/Soc sec programs is just ridiculous. It sounds nice if you support a bill that provides univ health care and supports the needy, but when it is a 2000+ page bill no one has read, created by people most people have never even heard of, is passed with extreme haste against the will of half the country which is in a severe financial crisis, it's pretty easy to see how a Christian could go against it.

[SirBenthr]

Hitchens certainly is a good sport. Not many people would agree to do a taped interveiw on the topic, "you have been wrong about everything", let alone calmly listening to his criticism and responding in turn.

[writersblock26]

@SirBenthr Agreed.

[wwww2001]

One of the best debates I've seen Hitchens in. His opponent is actually knowledgable and good, and obviously familiar with Hitchens's arguments. Hitchens rises to the challenge though, it's a close one.

[Sweence]

Hitchens rules! Religion has always stifled progress in the world. My atheist friends will enjoy "Religious fanatic debates Atheist" on my channel.

[PhreakPhantom]

Everything that comes out of Alterman's mouth comes after he says "Probably/Maybe"

[TheAmericanApologist]

@PhreakPhantom Combine his non-committal and limp wrist brand of debating style with his mind ceasing overuse of "ahhhs" and "ummms" and you get a man that's probably better read than listened to.

Not that I'd sit through his non-committal and limp wrist brand of writing either.

[theoldspicestuff]

@TheAmericanApologist

How do you explain the Zarqawi myth that Hitchens so repeatedly states? When asked from who he was getting this claim from, he avoided the accusation and stated it's a "testable" fact.

Let's start from there.

[shandcunt]

what a cunt move by alterman

[LewWalts]

could someone please tell Alterman to a) open his mouth when he speaks (instead of talking through his teeth) and b) to quit drinking when you have a microphone (just mute the microphone when you drink, it's extremely rude and distracts when Hitchens is talking). COMMON COURTESY!

[LucyInk121]

@LewWalts He's drinking so much cause he's nervous. And the talking through his teeth suggests that he's not actually confident in what he's saying. His subconscious body language is trying to keep the 'truth' of what he wants to say behind his teeth. another sign of his nerves is how he purses and pouts his lips, supposedly in the direction of Hitchens. Alterman is trying to subconsciously push Hitchens away because he is uncomfortable with the situation.

[1212kpm]

@LewWalts hear fucking hear. those ice cubes are making my blood curl.

[jessc1979]

Alterman has such a hard-on for Nader. Of all the topics, this is the 1st one he starts with. Not only that, he tries to defend the voting of Al Gore because he would not have gone to Iraq - and he's giving this to a guy who still supports the war - and he says this after Hitchens says that he wouldn't have voted for Nader in hindsight because he wouldn't have gone to war.

Dumbass.

Hitchens is right on however, about analyzing Clinton's and Gore's speeches.

[qwertypoiu4321]

Hitchens is a fool.

9-11 happened because of the US State(which Hitchens worships) occupying the Arabian Peninsula and funding Israel. That is what Osama Bin Laden said in 2001-October, 1998, AND 1996! The attack on the African Embassy was on the ANNIVERSARY of the US State occupying the Arabian Peninsula!!!

And either way the US State has no legitimacy committing larceny to pay for any US massacre anyway.

[qwertypoiu4321]

Hitchens is a fool. While he is dying he should think about the ONE MILLION Iraqi's that died because of the US massacre he supported.

[juikm]

@qwertypoiu4321 Actually, the figure is around half that. And what about the millions, literally, of Kurds and Iraqi's who died as a direct result of our leaving Saddam in power in 1991? The women gang-raped and hung by the vice squads? A policy of non-intervention would have had a far greater body count, the difference is that nobody back here would have noticed. It was not a pretty war, not a well-fought war, but it was a neccessary one.

[F33bs]

@qwertypoiu4321 Propaganda. Casualty count is not even close to a million, and on top of it, those casualties were inflicted by Iranian proxies, religious fundamentalists and Ba'ath loyalists. Go peddle proto-fascist propaganda elsewhere.

[soapfiction]

@qwertypoiu4321 Oh, sure. If Osama bin Laden says it, it must be true. I'm wondering why you have such a hard-on for the guy.

[F33bs]

@qwertypoiu4321 So the USA isn't allowed to maintain diplomatic relationships and military alliances with its economic and political allies, because it might piss off some uneducated cave-dwellers that kill innocent people. Got it.

[towneslives]

@qwertypoiu4321

It's masochistic to blame the US for 9/11, whatever Osama Bin Laden says - if I beat you up, that doesn't mean you can kill my mother. Anyway, Hitchens can't be indicted for the war crimes of the Coalition forces, in fact, he's firmly condemned the way the war's been fought, particularly on the waterboarding issue. As F33bs points out, most of the body count had nothing to do with the Coalition anyway.

[PersianSocialist777]

Alterman is a useless liberal who has made a career in the Nation attacking socialists, and Marxists such as Alexander Cockburn, Christopher Hitchens, Noam Chomsky etc...

[colin0630]

Is Alterman drinking Yoo Hoo?

[elephunt78]

@colin0630 haha, I don't know, but whatever it is it's super annoying to watch and hear.

[h0axbu5t0r]

What this guy doesn't understand is that leadership isn't black and white. It never was, it never will be. The American people are rather infantile in this respect. What does it matter what political party a person belongs? It really has no bearing on how well they can run a city, state, or country. It really is time for the American people to truly look at how each candidate feels about every issue in particular, and allow for there to be more political parties vying for a leadership role.

[Seigu007]

BORING

[kharnvelzyghur]

hear the siren's at 1:50 onward? that's hitchens' ass on fire.

[endofscene]

Hitchens is sitting there palpably seething with hatred.

[BloodOfRayne]

@endofscene So what else is new?

[endofscene]

@BloodOfRayne I wasn't trying to make a point. Just a comment. Obviously not a new thing. It was actually meant as a joke. Hope you laughed.

[BloodOfRayne]

@endofscene Heh. I was just joking too and agreeing at the same time. ; )

[phillitupp]

@gamlastanarn

Clean you're ears out those were police sirens, bloody fool how much wax do you have in you're ears?

[candiceevans1]

finally someone labels neo cons for what they are trotkyite morons who infiltrate

[leonski35]

I would imagine that hitchens is a supporter of the patriot act and the suspense of habeus corpus in the US being the neo con apologist he is ! a large proportion of people in the US and the UK don't support the illegal invasion of iraq and afghanistan because they can see through the mainstream (controlled) media and the government regurgitated spew.

[88WalkDog]

If only Al Gore had won says Alterman, we would not be in Iraq. He still tries to blame Nader for Al Gore losing the election.  Wrong. Al Gore would have won the election if a) he had won his home state of Tennessee, b) he had won Arkansas, Clinton's home state, or c) if he had won over some of those 8 million registered Democrats that voted for Bush. What is Alterman's game here?

[billheartyface]

@88WalkDog well, he DID get half a million more votes.....does that count for something?

[Rshimy]

Hey dumb shit. I'm not on that side. Fuel HAS melted steel before, do your fucking research:it especially melts when there are other material acccelerants located in the premesis. The TRUTH is that the few high-ups KNEW what would happen, and simply let it happen. Its a riff off of a false-flag operation. We meant to make Iraq a THEATRICAL war, it just went awry because they don't understand middle eastern politics. Propaganda, HAH, your a sheep.

[Rshimy]

@PainterofYou  Nono, you have the freedom to do it. But since you are doing it on someones privately owned property, they also have the right to take off anything they don't like. We ARE unique painter: If you got pulled over by the police here, they need propable cause to search your car for weed- try using that line somewhere else.

[Rshimy]

Dont generalize the US into one opinion. The US is unique in the sense that many people have different opinions, and have the freedoms to express them Honestly.

[KidMeatball]

Don't be daft. The US is not unique in it's variety of opinion, nor in it's freedoms.

[adsfo]

@KidMeatball not unique now, but the original constitutional democracy is pretty awesome

[Garrotte123]

@Rshimy If the US doesn't want to fall into a stereotype it should make sure those different opinions get projected.

[sulthus]

@PainterofYou I think a bunch of pissed off musliems did it but the us govt tired to make it look like they did it.

[Mrmoc7]

"Why were Saudi's allowed to fly on Sept 12, when the rest of us were not"

About 140 prominent saudi's were allowed to leave the country w/ knowledge of the FBI after the attacks for fear of retaliation.

"Jet fuel does not melt steel" True, but it's hot enough to cause it to loose more than 50% of its structural integrity, which is more than enough to cause the building to collapse. Also, steel expands as temperature increases, causing concrete around it to crack....

[Mrmoc7]

Does he have a name, do you have a source that others can look at? Is there any proof of him being alive provided, or are we just relying on word of mouth? Is his name and picture on the final list of the 19 hijackers released by the FBI (after the FBI publicly acknowledged the first ever report was inaccurate)?

[bantingjor]

this whole debate is only relevant if u believe radical muslims were the cause of the 911 attacks. I obviously do not and i cant see how these two seemingly intelligent men can think otherwise

[Mrmoc7]

@bantingjor

Radical muslims are the cause of the 911 attacks, and what fascinates me is the level of delusion, distrust, suspicion, maddening idiocy, and incurable gullibility it takes to think otherwise.

[bantingjor]

well iv done a lot of research and couldnt come up with any other possibility...but its a theory there r only a few who actually know what happened. u seem quite sure about ur theory but i doubt u have any concrete evidence to support it. research instead of eating all the bullshit thats fed to u

[Mrmoc7]

What you don't know about me is that I spent the first 13 years of my life attending islamic schools (I'm an ex-muslim). Given the daily dose of *infidel hatred* we're fed everyday, I am not the least bit surprised or befuddled that those guys are indeed responsible for the 911 attacks. What I find surprising is why you guys are so willing to reject a more straightforward explanation for highly improbable ones.

[Mrmoc7]

Keep in mind that upon receiving news of this attack, Palestinians and Yemenis were in jubilation. Even if the U.S. government helped these guys blow up W.T.C. it seems they would've loved to do it anyway even without the government's help.

[bantingjor]

thats y its so easy to manipulate the masses. jus because one answer seems more probable (n i dont agree that ur ttheory is more probable once u research everything) doesnt mean its true. If thats how u think then i can make u believe almost anything i want aha. i dont doubt their r radical muslims but that is in no way proof that they caused 911

[Mrmoc7]

Except that radical muslims hijacked the planes and flew them into the world trade center, and just a couple of days ago, they tried to do something similar again.

Or was that another conspiracy by the U.S. government? The way I see it, you guys wouldn't know the truth even if they rolled it in a sack and smacked you in the face with it.

[bantingjor]

aha relax bud its jus a discussion, getting mad or frustrated isnt helping ur case. which radical muslims r u talking about? the ones the us govt told us did it?...oh wait most of them r alive n have come forward. its obvious uv done no research and strike me as a person who will believe what they want to be true. I on the other hand dont have that luxury. i wish the govt wasnt involved, i wish there were a god but the evidence tells me different. ill believe evidence over big brother anyday

[Mrmoc7]

"oh wait most of them r alive n have come forward"

The 9 11 hijackers are alive? I would like to see your sources! Now!

[Mrmoc7]

In addition to your sources, I want the names of those hijackers which are still alive. I am so about to WTFpwn your ass. =:)

[hateterrorists]

"my daughter came in as soon as I started"

Thats what i say to myself all the time, very embarassing.

[jerryhello100]

He uses the word "solipsistic" a lot. He uses it in an ironic way, which I find is odd since it's such an obscure word and that the average layman probably doesn't know what it means. Some people are probably confused by it. Solipsistic is the philosophical view that you are the only one that exists, that everyone else are just perceptions in your consciousness. Chris says it in a way that is synonymous with egotistical; it is a bit humorous, but misleading, and rather pompous.

[semasiologistics]

@jerryhello100: yeah but this is nothing at all new for Hitchens, nothing at all. In nearly every debate he has he seems to raise himself up on these stilts made for painting the sky wherein nearly the entire audience is left wondering what the hell he just said. I find a lot of his debates more than stilted but also unfair. A lot of his opponents pretty clearly have very little education. Those against a real advisary are usually pretty indistinguishable, save atheism.

[Mrmoc7]

@jerryhello100

Christopher Hitchens makes no apologies for being pompous, and that's why he's Hitchens and you're not.

[jerryhello100]

@Mrmoc7 I do not claim to be Hitchens, I enjoy my self just fine. I am not saying he isn't clever or anything I 'm just pointing something out: he is sometimes guilty of using bombastic language. The primary function of language is to clearly convey an idea. The secondary function is to say it in an interesting and creative way. Sometimes though Hitchens sacrifices the primary function for the secondary one; that is all I am saying. I like the guy though.

[Mrmoc7]

I agree. -:)

[seansalvador1]

For me it seems incredibly obvious that Saddam's bluff regarding WMD's was directed at Iran, and not us at all. He didn't have them, he refused UN inspectrs. He was bluffing. Of whom would he feel more threatened? The US (way too far away to atrtack even if he did have WMD's) or Iran?

[railroadtrash09]

Since money is the main motivator there, I would say he would only have to send money, just like Jordan, Syria, and some Iranian militants who were caught setting IED's. Some are Iraqi's but not that many. Al Zarqowe didn't seem to have any trouble going back and forth...

[railroadtrash09]

Saddam would have been attacking US troops in Afghanistan, so we would have gone into Iraq anyway...

[BARCACROSSESTHEALPS]

I met Alterman in Austin while working at a book signing event. He is an ass-hat.

[3R3MITE]

2:05 someone died.

[tubajedimaster]

who the fuck is dying in the background?

[alwayspoppies]

@tubajedimaster Hitchens needs to WD-40 his doors..

[martiangrundy]

Is that a mingin old coffee jar he's drinking out of??? at the start.

By some mugs, M8.

[Cannibalzz]

Eric who?

[logan3134]

alterman... does his jaw move at all?

[sHitEatingpOPE]

Altermann is a sock puppet of the CIA.

He's the liberal wing of the CIA propaganda machine.

[ThatsMyPurseLOL]

Where's your evidence for a statement that bold?

[analubalitious]

At least the CIA's propaganda is nationalistic,. not partisan.

[sabres633]

if u think about the cia is certainly more right wing than left because we had cold war and the hold overs may not be extremely right wing but they certainly hate the left

[seansalvador1]

Of course it's right wing... It has it's own military force! The CIA is by definition right wing

[GOPsithlord]

@seansalvador1 uhm...what planet are you on? Its predecessor, the OSS was founded by that radical "right winger"... FDR. CIA was notorious for their endless Iraq leaks in their vendetta against the Bush administration. It can only be even vaguely referred to conservative in that it has been at times misused for causes only leftists would

consider "conservative". Intelligence gathering at times is an amoral business. What you do with the information is the only real ideological outcome.

[adzug]

he was president at the time of oss but i wudnt say founded. we were at war with the nazis and needed info. id say its more self arising outta need at the time. fdr gave its go ahed tho.

[Mrmoc7]

@seansalvador1

Nonsense.

[kestoelvis]

I've listened to numerous Hitchens debates and one thing I notice in all of his audio/video bytes is that he is an angry fellow! My pastor had him on his radio show recently and Hitchens got really angry only minutes into the interview. It wasn't even a debate. Hitchens was adverstising his book! Less than 20 minutes into the interview Hitchens hung up! The man is truly a portrait of the logical implications of atheism...

[Azadeth666]

Interesting that the religious are always imploring everyone to not generalize whenever a priest rapes a child or a preacher embezzles money or any of the other crimes constantly oozing from theism's heart...and yet they immediately jump on one man's behavior as a "portrait" of an entire group. Hitchens is an aggressive one, but we also have Dawkins, Harris, and many others who are, in my opinion, TOO polite. Incidentally, I'd be interested to know what it is your pastor said to piss him off.

[TheSkunkCat]

@Azadeth666

Harris IS to polite. Dawkins is not, I think. I think Dawkins is just right. (He just shouldn't bother with ideologue propaganda cannons like O'Reilly.) Hitchens... I don't like him all that much. He's interesting, but I don't like him. (He's consistently misogynistic (subtly, but clearly nonetheless), he's pro-life, pro the idiotic war on terrorism, and used to be pro-torture, supported Bush Jr. etc.) I do like Dennett from what I've seen of him.

[TheSkunkCat]

@TheSkunkCat

Now Hitchens... he's interesting and he actually at least had the balls to be waterboarded and changed his mind about it. He has good points and he's one of the few people I don't like, but DO have some respect for.

But Dawkins is BY FAR my favourite out of the 'new atheists' as they call him. Dawkins is for me the closest thing to the great Carl Sagan alive today. He's sort of the Carl Sagan of Biology for me.

[shieldsff]

I think it may also prove helpful to some of the viewers here to try to evaluate many of the more strident claims of the anti-theist critique ("brights") from a ideological/ metaphysics perspective. Check out the recent article by Jackson Lears in the May 16, 2011 issue of the The Nation entitled "Same Old New Atheism" .The article offers a compelling analysis of Sam Harris' works. Consideration is given to general secular social perspectives

[redryan20000]

@TheSkunkCat that's kind of insulting. dawkins is a selfish brat who doesn't take any pause to consider himself now that he's famous among barely litterate college "rebels"

[NaseerHammed]

good observation sir, chris doesn't really debate well, his tactics are simply to talk over you and use half loaded arguements and I believe that most of the ppl he debates/interview are intimidated by him... except for al sharpton

[hymnofashes]

As Azadeth says, you don't hear the polite ones because they don't get in your face. Dennett is the smartest one of the 'New Atheists' by far, and he's extremely polite.

[klimes86]

Eric Alterman reminds me of the weasels from the Wind in the Willows. He's got a really annoying voice, it has a nasal quality. Obviously a bright guy but a little obnoxious.

[patrickallain]

Looks like they're setting up team speak and gonna play some WoW.

[void212]

Yeah, it looks like that, except it's for a good reason that's not based on wasting time.

[dh234]

It really isnt wasting time, yes. These intellectual debates if nothing else strike into your heart the idea of commanding soldiers to die until the very idea of death is dealt with. It is very sobering and should be done.

[catamarac]

WaW

[Daoak28]

The title goes to show eric altermans nationalistic tendencies. How can the hitch be wrong about "almost everything" now that he has been defined a "conservative". Most of his core values have not changed. The Hitch chose to be on the side of those who fought what he saw as oppressers of liberal values. Now whether or not you find him at fault for that is your opinion, but if you're a liberal you still have to recognize that he is one of the most outspoken proponents of liberal values.

[45erwx7]

Totally agree.

[therealtruth123]

The Hitch!

[hymnofashes]

I distrust Hitchens because he isn't advocating humanitarian interventions in places that require them; like DRC.

And he has precious little to say about our 'friends' in Saudi Arabia who are NOT OUR FRIENDS and are every bit as crazy as the Iranians.

That's the acid test for these warmongers.

[bahdahdoop]

ur not a bright person

[hymnofashes]

Oh no!

This Ph.D. is going to be even harder than I thought! Thanks for the heads up, bahdahdoop!

Keep lookin' out.

[hymnofashes]

The more you learn, the less you know!

Who would've thought?

Oh well, it's beer o'clock. Gotta go.

[seansalvador1]

We know less and less about more and more ;)

[abolof]

@hymnofashes

petro-dollar?

[zenfell]

@hymnofashes No, it is the more you learn the less you need god.

[TheAmericanApologist]

@hymnofashes While having that beer, consider the nature of self-detonating statements. Contradictions are boring.

[areyouamormon]

Eric Alterman looks like a non-obese High Pitch Erik

[Thebookguy1]

Is this idiots jaw wired together?

[Izabelitaperon]

"response to iraq" ???? what "response" ? iraq didn't attack the US.....

[ChildeRolandofGilead]

Hitchens blows the whiny, gutless, male feminist Alterman out of the water.

Weenies like Alterman are why I always refer to myself as a Leftist and NEVER a "liberal." To me, "liberal" smacks of spineless, upper-class, multi-culti, pseudo-intellectual white douchebags. The kind of guy who protests urinals and pisses sitting down to show solidarity with women.

[jamianm]

Haha,, that last line was excellent.

[owenline]

Well Said ChildeRolandofGilead! Keep it up.

[zloxthegreat]

well put. tip of the hat at the the urinal quip.

[sheepwshotguns]

remind me never to get into a debate with hitchens.... this guy could make me look like the bad guy if i was arguing against the needless slaughter of innocent babies.

[sheepwshotguns]

is it just me though? does hitchens try to make the case about invading iraq by implying the ends justify the means?

[niginit]

the man on the left disinterests me. The man on the right, I know, is intelligent although he is probably wrong on more than one thing but no more than most. The man on the left is not nearly a decent opposition to the man on the right and in no way defends the position of many whom consider themselves liberal or anti-authoritarian. Therefore the man on the right wins but only because of incompetence of the man on the right who fails to defend his pseudo-position. This is lame.

[brokennarcissist]

Hitchens is the troll's savior.

[dodododa]

The Atheist sure is mopey.

[sonykroket]

The Hitch-meister, thou shalt take no shit from the reli-mob.

[lukoshey79]

we need a new format for these talks forums and discussions, i want to see christopher punch fat assed limbaugh right in the guts, victory is ours!!!

[harrymannen22]

stop drinking friggin chocholate milkshake! how thirsty are you ???

[clacton99]

Chris Hitchens is my hero, it is as simple as that.

[howudoin27]

Christopher!!!! challenge Rush Limbaugh to a debate on religion or any topic you differ in opinion with him.

[Chemicalkinetics]

Why waste Hitchen's talent on Limbaugh?

[ChildeRolandofGilead]

Seriously. Did you see the "debate" between Hitchens & Playthell Benjamin? It was a complete waste of time; Benjamin is an idiot with not a fucking clue what he was talking about, he kept going off on random tangents about race and slavery, openly admitted to planting "ringers" in the audience, and generally made a fool of himself.

Hitchens and the moderator walked out before the event even finished, and with good reason. It was like watching Cicero debate the village idiot.

[Chemicalkinetics]

Nope, but thanks for the suggestion. I will check out that debate later (if it is on youtube). Thanks.

[ChildeRolandofGilead]

Oh yeah, it's on youtube, alright. Filed under Benjamin's brilliant title of "The Thrilla in Manhattan-illa." While it's a complete wash as a forum for intellectual debate, it is most definitely entertaining. I knew I was in for a rare treat when I saw Benjamin walk onstage wearing a big Indiana Jones-style fedora and sounding like he'd just smoked three blunts.

[Chemicalkinetics]

Child,

I finally watched the debate you mentioned. It is utterly horrible. Why do people find all these wierd people to debate Hitchen? At least once I watched Hitchen debated Andrew Sullivan and they were much better. Does this mean only British can debate intelligently?

[jessc1979]

I happen to believe that if Al Gore was president, the US would still have gone to Iraq. Alterman fails to realize that Gore the citizen is a different person from Gore the politician. (Also, he has Lieberman for a Vice President. You think *he* would have been against the war?)

Gore got a Nobel peace prize for his efforts in the environment. He didn't talk about that subject at all when he was running for president, just to give you one example of the difference.

[DuctTapeMyFace]

Right it would have killed any chance of being President to say what he now says regarding environmental matters.

[plimbuff]

I forgot he ran with Lieberman. I agree

[allahBurpsCum]

I totally disagree and I never supported Gore nor the Iraq war. Iraq was about the influence extremists like Cheney and company had a nitwit president. Bush then got his way because so many were afraid to stand up to or question him after 911. No way Gore would have been dumb enough to divert from those who attacked America to take out some weak former ally no matter what Liberman would have wanted (assuming he would have acted the same if the Prez and company had not had a hard on for Saddam)

[jessc1979]

Your analysis is completely wrong and unsubstantiated.

First of all, it's not about smart or dumb, it's about integrity. I bet you think that there's, "No way" that Gore would have said:

"... common sense dictated that we should send our military to Iraq..."

Guess what? He did. I bet after watching his doc, you would say, "No way," he bragged about how he was a proud tobacco farmer. He did, in 1988, 4 years after his sister died.

Lesson? A politician is a politician.

[allahBurpsCum]

Lost me there. It has EVERYTHING to do with Bush being easily manipulated and dumb. Politicians run their mouths all the time. I cannot think of anyone starting a more idiotic and badly timed war as Bush did in Iraq though. Gore opposed the Iraq war and the majority of Democrats voted against giving Bush authorization. Some goofballs like Liberman became cheerleaders, but it was mostly cowardice in the Demo camp that prevented opposition-NOT any real desire for the war.

[KennGM]

Actually, a majority of Democrats voted for authorization of the war.....you can look it up.

[allahBurpsCum]

I stand corrected.

My point stands though. The vote was actually sold as a way to avoid war. Even in the atmosphere after 911, when any politician standing against Bush on security measures risked political suicide, the vote was close on the Demo side. It was all fear mongering-not real support- that allowed Bush to sell the war and silence opposition. Gore was one of the few who spoke against Bushs stupidity before the war. NO way he would have sold it like Bush did.

[charlesvan13]

With all do respect to Altermann, I would never call myself a liberal, because that seems to synonymous with being full of it.

I don't think those writers at the Nation ever had a real position on the Saddam Hussein regime. They always simultaneously blame the US administration of complicity, and advocate for it, whether it be as a human shield, ending the sanctions, or no-fly zones.

[Ellesime89]

It is impossible, for a human being, to be right about everything (and even a total git gets something right from time to time). But there are some people who think outside of the rhetoric (Democrat/Republican, Liberal/Conservative) and these people will always be hounded from both sides; but that's the price people pay for being honest. If you want to be liked in the world, choose the side with the largest population and play along. If you're interested in truth, be like Christopher Hitchens.

[richter75]

If your dedicated to truth you can be right about everything because you will not take a position you do not know enough about or have a bias for.

[hellavadeal]

Popular opinion is often wrong. I think Hitchen is a smart man , I do not think he is right about some issues but he was right here.