



That interview would have went a lot better for Rand Paul if Maddow had have just thrown her notes in the air and accused him of being a bigot, and a covert member of the Klan. That's what they want. And I don't simply mean conservatives--I mean people you disagree with. I know I've won a debate when my adversary says, "What the fuck type of name is Ta-Nuh-hah-see, anyway?" It translates to "I've got nothing." Much scarier is the opponent who takes your argument, with whatever nuances it may or may not possess, and politely disagrees with the argument as it is.





I try to do this in writing, with some success. Much more difficult, for me, is to do it in person. I'm always impressed by broadcast journalists who can, without getting angry, grab the point of contention and drive at it in a manner that is as civil as it is relentless. This is the art of killing softy, of quietly twisting the knife. There are a lot of people in the field who know how to be contentious over small points, and semantics. There are a lot more who know how to do fake-ass on-the-other-handism, or imbibe the weak-sauce of "both sides" and "others say." And then there are some who are partisan, but make a living dropping the bomb every time Rush Limbaugh flubs the basics of subject-verb agreement.



