Hitchens vs. Stewart

Given the current state of our political discourse (at least as seen on TV), it's not surprising that the best discussion about Iraq and U.S. foreign policy that I've heard in quite some time occurred on a fake news show. On Thursday's Daily Show, the sometimes exasperating but always articulate Christopher Hitchens (is it the accent?) butted heads with Jon Stewart, a man who has quietly established himself as the most intelligent and articulate left-center voice on television. The result was a refreshingly serious-minded and engaging discussion of the Iraq war, one I recommend watching in it's entirety.

The complete video can be found at Crooks and Liars. If you don't have the time or technology to watch the video, Wonkette has a transcript of one of the key exchanges.

I respect Hitchens far more than many other pro-war voices, and even when I think he's dead wrong, I enjoy reading his columns. But I think Stewart does a good job of pointing out the most common weakness in his logic. Hitchens far too frequently (particularly on the issue of Iraq) fights a straw man. He grossly mischaracterizes the positions of those who disagree with him, and thereby ignores the arguments put forth by intelligent critics, like Stewart. When Hitchens started doing this on his show, Stewart called him on it, and in the process, did a good job of putting the Iraq debate in perspective.