Guys like Hume think it adds to their credibility to begin a critique with the boilerplate - he’s smart, he has good intentionions, but”
It doesn’t but they’ve been trained to think it does.
Bingo.
That’s why so many “conservatives” insist that they believe “Obama” was “born in the U.S.,” or that “he loves this country,” or “Obama is a Christian,” “Obama is a citizen.”
There is absolutely no evidence for any of these assertions, but they are the “correct” things to believe, or you’re a kook.