In the old Jimmy Stewart movie, Harvey, Stewart’s character, Elwood P. Dowd, makes a pivotal statement about choices in life. To paraphrase Dowd, if a person has to choose between being “oh so pleasant” in life, or being “oh so smart,” he would recommend being pleasant.
I’m thinking of this as I watch Larry King tonight, in which Christopher Hitchens is pitted against a bunch of bonehead Republicans. Hitchens is making cogent points about Obama vs. McCain, and he is clearly the only intelligent voice on the show.
But this is the same man who recently wrote an atheistic book (haven’t read it, but he’s probably spot-on).
My point is, Hitchens is an intellectual who is leagues above his “competition” when it comes to logic and reasoning, and yet … he is the only panelist on Larry King who never gets to smile.
I believe he is right, but miserable.
Elwood P. Dowd would understand.
