Jim – I’m not going to waste a lot of time talking about Andrew, as it would be throwing good time after bad. But with all due respect, I sometimes feel as if you missed the first five or six years of the Corner, when there was a great deal of dialog with Andrew. As you may or may not know, Sullivan and I used to be friends. We sparred over various issues online and joined forces on others. And then we would occassionally have drinks and compare notes. I think your points are all valid, but they ignore the simple fact that Sullivan’s tactics of debate have often been, and have become steadily more, dishonorable (“nearest weapon to hand” is how I think Mickey once described it with admirable concision). As a personal matter, I look at Andrew’s behavior toward me with a straightforward mix of disappointment and pity. As a professional matter, I’ve moved from bewilderedness to complete indifference. Either way, I for one no longer believe it’s worth wasting the effort trying to form alliances with the Party of Andrew. You suggest I’m supposed to overlook his shabbiness, dishonesty and nastiness (never mind his neck snapping inconsistencies) because this week he’s complaining about socialized medicine? I say I’m not nearly so cheap a date.