This has become the standard knock against CH, and it's pretty tiresome. Contrary to what Cockburn et al. say (and for Cocky to slam boozing is comical), I don't think drinking has anything to do with it. CH's political compass has spun all over the map, and even back when he was "good," he'd say things (usually off the cuff remarks) that I thought were in contradiction to what he stood for. I think age, living in the Beltway and rubbing shoulders with elites has taken its toll. Of course, he doesn't see it this way. But when you read his stuff for the Mirror, then go back and read his stuff from a decade ago, there's a discernable difference in tone and reasoning. The Hitch from '90-91 would've never written the piece I forwarded -- indeed, he would've ripped it shreds, assuming he'd even bother.
DP