...which, as Gelato reminded us above, Keyes pretty much did....
Dan (though fearing a hyperdetailed, almost pecksniffian response ["Well no, Bush didn't say the word 'Lord'..."], rather than candid acknowledgment of facts obvious to others)
I really tried to sit down and analyze my reasons for disliking Alan Keyes. This is my personal view.
Of course, as human beings we are all flawed. All the parts of us make up the whole. Keyes may??? be principled, is surely intelligent, and speaks well. He is also pride-filled, arrogant and often unkind. He is all of these things; not just the parts one chooses to see.
His negatives happen to be things that are instrumental in relating to others. They are equally important to me as what is in his mind and conscience. I can't separate and thereby ignore that which he leads with.......his personality.
All I know of Keyes is what he says about himself and his opinions. I am unaware of great accomplishments. I know that he still claims to be a Republican but does not appear to have much loyalty.
I have no problem with someone criticizing a president just because I happen to like him. I do, however, expect a fellow Republican to attempt constructive criticism for the sake of helping and not sniping and self-promotion. I don't buy the explanation that he is holding Bush's feet to the fire. From all outward appearances he seems more concerned with carving and maintaining his niche as Mr. Morality, whose match cannot be met. I truly do not see any indication of a positive influence.
Experiences on FR have only cemented my thoughts about Keyes. It may be unfair to judge him by some of his supporters here but it is hard to avoid. Not all, but a good number of them are not pleasant and quite unreasonable. They take on a Keyes-like attitude as if they are above the rest. Only a naive person doesn't understand that such behavior is not received well by most. It invites an argument and rightly so.
Lastly, I do not see a man whose manner is God-pleasing. For all his "preaching" I see little if any humility, selflessness or kindness. If that is present he has done a good job at camouflaging it. I can only judge what I see and hear. I used to admire him until I got a real full dose. It really has little to do with his treatment of Bush. It is Keyes, himself, that is abrasive, pompous and self-serving. He and he alone is responsible for that. As I said, we are the sum of all the parts and a principled stand or great knowledge does not give one a free pass on kindness and generosity. If he were gracious enough to see his flaws he would probably be in a place where he coud make a difference. I doubt that will ever happen though.
The only comment I want to make is to once again point out that when a Keyes basher uses satire to make his point, it's considered merely being funny (which it may or may not be) by a certain segment on this forum.
However, when I used satire to make a point a few weeks ago, I was charged by those very same people with simply trying to cause division or start a flame war.
That is what is really funny here!
Keep smiling...The Conservative Voice of Declaration Principles, the Right to Life, and the Constitution will soon have a forum to reach more people in one hour than read this thread in a year! Maybe that's what has some people here in a tizzy.
;-)