Dennis Miller is a thug...

Strong words, I know, but after seeing this video clip of him insulting and dismissing lefty critic Eric Alterman on his show, I feel the verdict is in.



For those of you not willing or able to load the video, here's a summary: Alterman says the Bush Administration doesn't have any regard for the truth, only political expedience. Miller doesn't argue this point, but makes fun of Alterman's supposedly laconic manner. Instead of debating the Adminstration's truthfulness, or redirecting the segment towards whatever issue he wants Alterman to speak about, Miller simply gives up and lets Alterman talk. After Alterman delivers a rational, even-handed opinion about the relative costs and benefits of invading Iraq, Miller ends the segment. There's no debate here--only Miller trying to pretend that whatever Alterman is saying is beneath comment, not worth the breath. That's strange behavior for a political satirist--to simply not argue--but it makes perfect sense for an airheaded goofball chasing some greed-fueled dream of repositioning himself as the Michael Moore of the Right.



Miller's schtick has always been to appear brainy using flippant references to (supposedly) arcane things. (Those things are only really arcane in the world of TV.) But as anybody who's written for a comedian can tell you, that doesn't mean that Dennis Miller is very smart. Maybe he is, but he certainly didn't show it. And perhaps there's a logical argument to be made against what Alterman was saying; I'd like to hear it. But Dennis Miller couldn't make it, and when he couldn't make it, reverted to his default personality--a completely unearned sense of superiority. It was all very unflattering, and I'm sure he ripped his producers a new one for not vetting Alterman enough and getting the writers to provide him with the appropriate pluto-populist bon mots. What a freaky, plastic guy. He should stop taking himself so seriously and go do something like Weekend Update.