I think Ramesh did pretty well, when Stewart let him get a word in edgeways. He kept his cool, smiled a lot, and was obviously sincere — those are the main bases to cover on an appearance like this.
Ramesh’s real disadvantage was that the thing he is really, really good at — sustained reasoning buttressed by lots of examples — just doesn’t fit into a format like TDS. Perhaps it doesn’t fit into TV at all. For example, Stewart’s question about killing innocents in Iraq vs. killing innocents via embryonic stem cell research. Ramesh actually has an answer for that, but what with the audience hooting and Stewart interrupting every third word, couldn’t present it.
I’ve read POD but not yet written my review. Question for Ramesh: Of course the Right-to-Lifers are all enthisastic about the book, but has he got any even-handed reviews from outside the RtL circle? Any sign that people outside RtL are engaging with the book? Or just noticing it? Not that there’s anything wrong with preaching to the choir, but I’m curious to know what the congregation thinks.