> But also in
> comparison with the Bush gang, why is he so awful?
Same reason a bent cop is worse than a regular criminal, perhaps. From
the point of view of those who respect the moral authority of
left-wing academics (and would never accept the moral authority of
right-wing politicians, whom they must always assume - and not always
without justification - to be acting from the most reprehensible of
possible motives in pursuit of the most reprehensible of possible
ends), he is an abuser of their trust and esteem. Nobody expects any
better from Cheney.
As far as I can make out, Campus Watch's super bete-noire is not some
snake-oil-peddling egomaniac tosspot on the make, but the (by most
accounts) impressively scrupulous and decent Edward Said. I think they
hate him even more than they hate the obvious phoneys and careerist
shit-stirrers (of whom there have always been a few, on either side of
any political division you care to make, academia being no different
from anywhere else in this regard), precisely because he was a
profound and genuine thinker and a critical exponent of Enlightenment
values.
Dominic
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