"I love the man," says Eric Alterman of Cornel West. But surely a man who thinks that Al Sharpton would make a good president is a raving lunatic? And surely a man who thinks that Larry Summers is to academia as Ariel Sharon is to the Middle East is not just a few bricks short of a full load but instead an almost completely empty wheelbarrow in the ability-to-think-intelligently-about-politics department?

But love is blind: Eric Alterman "feel[s] pretty certain Cornel wishes he had not compared Larry Summers to Ariel Sharon" what--besides love--makes him "pretty certain" he does not say). And Eric "wish[es] [West] would think again about supporting the horrific Al Sharpton for president" but avoids the conclusion that West is--as all supporters of Sharpton are--not a lovable man.

Surely there are much better love-objects out there in this big wide world of ours...

Eric Alterman: Altercation: October 31, 2002