Apparently, Jonah Goldberg has failed to make himself clear about his views on Donald Trump, at least not clear enough for Stephen Colbert.
(He made himself clear enough to Donald Trump; perhaps Stephen Colbert is not so attentive.)
You’d think that in these of all times, we’d have a deeper appreciation for the fact that entertainers are not, in reality, the people they play on television. Alec Baldwin once played a gifted surgeon who was also a kind of Machiavellian genius, but no sane person would let Alec Baldwin anywhere near with a scalpel. Tom Hanks probably wouldn’t be a very good astronaut. Jason Statham, on the other hand, apparently does drive around scenic locales in nice European cars wearing good suits, which, other than shooting people in the face, is mainly what I’ve seen him do in movies.
It’s a fine line.
Stephen Colbert plays a witty and insightful political commentator on television. Let a few writers go on summer vacation, though, and he’s a mess.
I assume that’s the case, here. This calls once again for us to make the not-always-obvious judgment about whether such a figure is simply having a dumb moment or is in fact willfully dishonest. It isn’t always easy to tell, because some dumb moments last a lifetime.
Some dishonest habits last a lifetime, too.