Cranky Bastard

-Christopher Hitchens replied to Pat Buchanan after Pat wished him a Merry Christmas. Seeing Hitchens is always a great dessert, but tonight he was absolutely on fire. He debated the place of Christmas and christian themes in public schools. Everyone knows where Pat Buchanan stands on this and other religious issues and he had some woman backing him up who couldn't come close to keeping up with Hitchens. Hitchens point was that he does not think that it is necessary to have religion in schools. Why do we need it there, he seemed to say. Of course, Pat feels we should have religion everywhere we can get it, schools, stores, etc. I understand that he wants to convert people, but he seems rather incapable of just admitting that. Hitchens merely wants as much respect for not being religious as for those that are. What about the children who do not believe in Christ? Wouldn't they then be outcasts? Why are we doing that to them? I respect both beliefs on this topic, but then it went further. Pat wanted to try to "expose" Hitchens' disdain for Mother Teresa. Hitchens didn't hide on it. He took him on. He has, for quite a long time, been very public about his feelings about her, but it seemed an odd, but possibly effective, way of trying to discount Hitchens to the average viewer who had no clue how truely brilliant he is. Another interesting point was that Pat used a patronizing tone early on in the interview, and Christopher popped back and reminded Pat that he was a guest. Pat handled the moment well, but I love that Hitchens doesn't take any guff. All in all, a good few minutes, but I hope that producers of shows like this don't try to pair Hitchens up anymore. He needs his own segment, as he makes most other guests look stupid.