Like Dennis Miller, Hitches doesn't seem to be enjoying himself anymore. Then again, he is off the booze which was killing him. Maybe it's withdrawal. I will always respect Hitchens, but he seems obsessed with trying to justify his position on Iraq even as many conservatives themselves are jumping ship. Hitchens actually believes the war serves a progressive purpose by empowering and paving the way for liberals to enlighten the region. He still thinks Kissinger should be tried for war crimes. He still thinks Ed Meese was a "liar, a cheat, and a thief," to whom he once told to his face on Crossfire. He still believes in the use of social programs to level the playing field economically, and for some degree of comprehensive economic planning at the government level. But he is so charged up with the Iraq issue, he is alienating some of his former friends. He left The Nation because they held a symposium and he was the only Nation writer to support the war. He had been annoyed by a Marc Cooper editorial when he contradicted Clinton and Rosenthal by disclosing a confidential statement. Cooper questioned the ethics of the disclosure. Fellow Nation writer (and fellow Brit expatriot) Alex Cockburn did more than question in a column entitled "Hitch the Snitch." However, Nation editor Katherine Vandenteufel (sp?) tried to persuade him to stay on, ensuring him they would not edit any of his columns. But he felt the need to make a clean break. He has most recently been in the news debating maverick Brit parliament member George Galloway.