A couple of months after the invasion of Iraq, I was in Los Angeles and some drunk accosted me, saying, 'George Bush was right about everything he said about Iraq!' - weapons of mass destruction, the al-Qaeda connection and more. It was Christopher Hitchens, 'debating' me, and furious. His confusing our President's assertions with reality was a verbal pie he threw in the air and caught on his face.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- The speaker describes being confronted by someone who believed Bush's claims about Iraq were true, comparing the argument to a clumsy self-inflicted mess.
- In plain terms
- Someone argued Bush was right about Iraq, but the speaker saw this as a foolish mistake that backfired on the arguer.
- What can you take from it?
- Confusing political assertions with facts can lead to self-defeating arguments.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How do we distinguish political claims from facts?
- When does advocacy become self-delusion?
Another view
The quote relies on a specific anecdote that may not reflect broader public opinion.
More from Christopher Hitchens
What you have before you is the first known metamorphosis of a butterfly into a slug.
Permalink to quote #97 Long ago he came out against abortion. Interesting! Then he discovered and made quite a kosher meal of the fact that his mother, deceased, was Jewish, which un…
Permalink to quote #99 That such a dynamic speaker, writer and thinker has devolved into a sputtering death-loving crank is certainly sad, especially for us who knew him back in the …
Permalink to quote #96
Related quotes
Canada's position was Saddam Hussein should be disarmed. Now, to be quite honest, I had a lot of difficulty understanding how he was going to be disarmed witho…
Paul MartinPaul Martin quote #1 This is brave Bear-Garden language!
Jeremy CollierJeremy Collier quote #1 Senator, I served with Jack Kennedy. I knew Jack Kennedy. Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy.
Lloyd BentsenLloyd Bentsen quote #1