[lbo-talk] Hitchens Reviews "Darkness At Noon"

[Dennis Perrin]

> re. hitchens on tv, he was kicked off of comedy central's 'indecision 92' 
> prez convention coverage for using word fuck (more than once, if memory 
> serves), cc's coverage was by far the best of any network, hosted by al 
> franken, with hitchens (for one night anyway before he got tossed), 
> american enterpise institute's norm ornstein (quite funny conservative 
> poli sci guy), now deceased atlanta- constituton humourist lewis grizzard 
> (hard-drinking guy who died young), paula poundstone, and i can't recall 
> who else...
>
> anyway, i remember it rather fondly, good on him for that...
> michael hoover

I was with him for that. Sat in the green room with Lizz Winstead (creator 
of "The Daily Show"), Ben Stein (who was incredibly nice and polite), and a 
very sweaty John Podhoretz, who had to have his shirt taken by a CC intern 
and air dried or ironed or something -- the guy was drenched in sweat. He 
also kept bellowing at the TV, which was showing the Dems in full Clinton 
gear. "It's like Leni Riefensthal!" he kept saying, then reminded us that he 
was a media expert and that he knew all sorts of things we probably missed. 
Asshole.

Hitch said "fuck" several times on-air, even though I told him this was 
basic cable, not pay cable like HBO, where you can say anything you want. He 
didn't understand or care about the difference. Plus, we had been drinking 
for several hours, and when we got to the studio, Hitch had someone make him 
a martini in a styrofoam cup, which he took on the air with him. Me, I drank 
water. I couldn't keep up with him.

Dennis