Look what happens when I bring specifics into these things.

It finally occurred to me this morning that ER has the mind of a poet.

There's nothing at all wrong with that. I've spent some time looking up his articles and writings, and none of that time was wasted. The man is a brilliant writer, who can take you out on a boat at night or to the stars.

But in a rational debate, words aren't something you paint with, they're tools of concept definition, analysis and communication of information. Paragraphs can't just sing (look at that third one in ER's comment), they have to take the reader through a line of reasoning, preferably a consistent one.

ER's posts often contradict each other, and sometimes even contradict themselves.

Nobody who has written what ER has written in the past about the Tea Party and other conservatives should have been able to write that first paragraph with a straight face.

Whitman contained multitudes. Some people contain entire populations.