I USED to really like Ben Stein (other people on my "USED to really like" list include Bob Barr and Joe Birkett). He was one of the conservatives who saw the Arnold Schwarzenegger scam for what it was in the beginning, and supported Tom McClintock in the recall election.
I think Stein started jumping the shark around 2007-2008. His "wtf" moment for me was when he not only endorsed Al Franken for U.S. Senate, but gave Franken a sizable donation. Seriously, of all the Dems you could endorse, Franken had to be the most unqualified and unhinged nut they could put up... and for the Dems that's really saying something! Stein didn't even have "I supported him cuz he was a fellow Jew" blinded by ethnic bias excuse, since the Republican incumbent was ALSO Jewish.
Stein's only gone downhill since then, IMO. I believe he voted for Obama in '08.
As the whole mortgage mess started to become obvious to the whole world and the financial markets were starting to implode, Stein was still pumping things up saying it was the best buying opportunity he’d seen in his lifetime, that the credit crunch was “overblown” and the sub-prime problem was a “tiny problem.” The man is a tool, IMO.
Of course, supporting Franken is a pretty good reason not to like him, too. LOL