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Thanks. I do think mentioning that Keyes engages in sophomoric twaddle he learned at Harvard is a valid point. I believe I was the first to mention Alan's debt to Leo Strauss on any of these threads. Keyes' use of endless Socratic arguments and his condescension turn viewers off. And when people claim these rote techniques show eloquence....well...it is difficult not to comment.

I believe I was the first to mention Alan's debt to Leo Strauss on any of these threads.

I believe you are mistaken, if by "on any of these threads" you mean here at FR. Keyes' having studied with Bloom was discussed numerous times during the primaries, and those who suspect a deep Keyes/Kristol connection have raised the point in the past.

What was new here was the extent of the conversation of the influence of Strauss on conservative thought, and a bit of the content of Strauss' thinking.

Regards,

Richard F.

Keyes' use of endless Socratic arguments and his condescension turn viewers off. And when people claim these rote techniques show eloquence....well...it is difficult not to comment.

I've always thought Keyes was an incredibly eloquent speaker -- when I first heard him, my thought was that American political discourse had not had such a speaker for at least 50 years previous.

What I've noticed since then, is that often when I hear him speak, my first thought is "That was beautiful!" followed by "but what did he really say?" I've especially noticed this in trying to condense what is being said to transcribe it on the AKIMS live threads.

In fact, I'd encourage people who disagree with what I've said to go back and read the Transcript of Alan Keyes CPAC Interview. You'll notice that Dr. Keyes has a wonderful vocabulary, but in many sentences, he gets caught up in the verbage and never finishes his thoughts. In others, he uses 20 words to say what he could have said in 5.