"To me there is something phony about this essay..."
There is nothing not phony about it. Dog bites man; narcissist falls in love with his reflection. "Eventually I joined the staff of U.S. Sen. Howard Metzenbaum, D-Ohio."
I agree with Dwayne about the smear job on the Iraq elections. See Naomi Klein's post-election column: http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1411350,00.html
The Sandwichman