Doug:
I don't know what I was thinking, not seeing the rational core of Armageddon.
[WS:] That was not my point. The *content* his speech is totally insane, but the *choice* of that content is rational and calculated. Similarly, if a used car dealer cajoles a prospective client how smart, savvy and good looking he is - these statements may be blatantly false, but that does not mean the dealer is delusional. In fact, he is very rational and goal-oriented.
Ditto for sundry preachers, politicos and kindred rabble rousers. They have a clear goal - attracting followers to an organization or a political party - and if attaining that goal requires repeatedly uttering the bullshit that the potential followers happen to believe and that makes them tick - so be it. I understand that such tactic may be morally reprehensible, especially for left-leaning intellectuals, but it most certainly is NOT irrational.
If anything, we should bemoan the insane state of mind of large segments of the US public that fall for this crap.
Wojtek