Strikes me that this nameless junk mailer is the defensive one. The praise being given this man really worries you. That is why you react so, instead of politely (now there's a concept, eh?) stating your views. The best critique I have heard so far, and the one that brings him such adulation from the young and the old alike, is that he was consistent. In today's world that seems to be a terrible thing. I didn't agree with a number of his positions, but he was consistent in his expression of them. When he said he was Pro Life, that meant he was opposed to abortion AND the death penalty, unlike so many of our supposed "traditional values" friends. He was not a friend of convenience in the things he supported, and conversely, opposed. He was an outspoken critic of the Iraq war. He supported the fall of the Communist state, yet indicated that there were parts of it that should be kept because of their worth.

Rant on, GUEST. It is just more of your intolerance toward any idea that isn't in lock step with your ivory tower view of the world.