Hitch On Galloway Debate

UPDATE/Bumped For Serendipity: For those who missed it, the debate is being rebroadcast on CSPAN2 right f'n' now. Just started at 12pm ET.

It should keep you busy until the 1:07 kickoffs. Thanks to Alex.

Substance aside, Galloway was hot, hectoring, and Hitleresque, while Hitchens managed to remain puckish, ironic, and cool.

Even when he was hinting that the idea of beating the shit out of Galloway would not greatly displease him, he managed to do so in a calm way.

Recap of the debate: Hitchens levied proveable and serious charges against Galloway. Galloway responded chiefly with lunkheaded personal attacks.

In point of fact, having quoted Mr Galloway's recent speech in Damascus ("The Syrian people are fortunate in having Bashar al-Assad as their leader") and having further pointed out that Mr Assad decided not to show his face in New York last week, as the UN investigation into the murder of Rafik Hariri rolled up more and more Syrian agents, I was given a full answer by being told that I had metamorphosed back from a butterfly into a slug, with a consequent trail of slime in my wake. I did not have the lepidopteral presence of mind to point out, at that moment, that butterflies pupate from sturdy and furry caterpillars.

Hitchens made the point several times that these sorts of insults are "fun knockaround stuff," but really have little to do with the actual discussion at hand. But that's all Galloway had, really, and he just kept playing to the cheap seats occupied by rabid fire-breathing retards.

posted by Ace at 12:08 PM

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