I am a huge fan of Levin. I saw this coming several weeks ago when he made asides about “writers that don’t write their own books,” and wondered (without actually criticizing him) how Beck has time for everything he does: books, radio, tv, appearances, etc..
It’s extremely unfortunate. Both are very good at what they do. Levin is smarter, but what I like about Beck - and what makes him so powerful - is that he manages to be both a populist and a liberarian/conservative at the same time. Unlike say, O’Reilly or Savage who are populists but NOT ideological conservatives, or Limbaugh who is great, but pretty much a purely ideological guy.
I also agree that ALL of these guys are smarter than Hannity. I watch him, but he is a poor debater and very, very repetitive. If there’s a conservative about whom the accusation of spouting “talking points” might have some validity, it’s Sean. Useful, and a class act, but reeks of “C-Student.”
I hope Levin doesn’t pursue Beck with the same ferocity he does Savage/Weiner. Weiner deserves it....Beck doesn’t.
Hank
Good analysis Hank. I concur.
Agree on Savage vs. Beck. I listen to Mark Levin while driving home at night and I think he’s been dropping hints, as you say, for a very long time that he doesn’t like Beck. I think different talk radio hosts serve different roles. Limbaugh’s gift has always been to distill complex points down to make them easy to understand and remember (a point Beck was making on his radio show this morning) and I think Beck is currently performing that role, too, but with a bit more theatrics and emotion and a bit less class. Because they distill things down, both Limbaugh and Beck sometimes over-simplify and sometimes get details wrong. Sean Hannity seams like a very nice guy but he’s basically a cheerleader and, like you say, a poor debater (I’ve seen Colmes clean his clock) and repetitive. Mark Levin is basically an intellectual who sweats the details. My main problem with him is that unlike the others, he’s angry and can get nasty. While there is certainly a market for that and it can be entertaining, it’s going to limit his popularity. Complaining about who writes Beck’s books is petty coming from someone who has a best seller. At least he didn’t get Bill Ayers as a ghost writer.