Apparently, I’ve hit one. I’m getting inundated with email from people hurling one accusation after another at Bush, me, NRO, Republicans etc. None of them deal with anything I’ve said. It’s all an attempt to change the subject. For example, here’s a fairly typical one — save for the printable language which is a bit rare:

Thank you for bringing this up. As good Americans, we hate all people who do nasty things like read philosophy. That can only lead to thinking, and that’s the first step to Communism. It’s why all real Americans know that George W. Bush is the greatest leader ever. You’d never catch him reading some Commie thinkers. When he was 15, we all know he didn’t think about anything but beer and girls — and that’s what we want in a world leader. If he spent any time thinking today, we’d never have taken the bold step of invading Iraq! Thanks again for protecting us from those eggheads. Imagine the horror if we had people in government who cared about ideas.

Me: Note, I never criticized reading existentialists, indeed I invoked existentialists. Communism never appears in my column, nor does any defense of Bush, any discussion of Iraq, etc etc. Moreover, this guy defends Gore on charges I never made while ignoring the one I did. I really don’t think this is the biggest deal in the world, hence the light tone of the column. I even concede that maybe Gore simply misremembered. If Al Gore spent his summer reading existentialists, that’s fine I guess. But if he didn’t, why lie about it? To impress Arianna Huffington!? That’s a terrifying prospect. What amazes me is the defensiveness of these people.