I think he's funny and cheerful, but on his fixed idea, wrong.
Permit me, rdf, to repeat what I said in my first post to this thread:
As even the most casual of viewers have noticed, Dr. Alan Keyes has not been using his new television show (Alan Keyes is Making Sense) to criticize President Bush or any of the President’s policies. Dr. Keyes has put his “I am not a Bush Republican” days far behind him now and is now solidly back in the President’s camp. He fully supports all of the President’s policies and it is not an exaggeration to say that Alan Keyes is the President’s best friend in the media.
The real Alan Keyes is back in the saddle. He is more mature now. He looks better and he feels better about himself. He has overcome the post-election melancholy that plagued him in 2001. Many of us simply ignored Alan’s intemperate outbursts of criticism against the President last year because we could sense the post-election grief and anguish that enveloped his soul.
Unfortunately, the return of the real Alan Keyes has not been without its share of critics. A few of his fans, known as paleo-Keyesians, are having a difficult time adjusting to the return of the real Alan Keyes. They wait in vain for Dr. Keyes to use his new television forum to castigate President Bush for what they perceive as failings or shortcomings in many areas of our nation’s foreign and domestic policy. Quite simply, they are reluctant to accept that the real Alan Keyes is a Bush Republican after all.
On the other hand, the neo-Keyesians, myself included, knew all along that once Dr. Keyes regained his composure, his silly criticisms of the President would cease. We welcome Alan back and join him in our complete support of the Bush White House.
As the foregoing makes clear, none of my comments are in the least bit extravagant or fixed. At post 65, I suggested that another reader “review the transcripts of the Alan Keyes is Making Sense show [to] see if [he/she could] find any criticisms of President Bush.” All of his/her efforts to find any such criticisms have produced an empty harvest.
The paleo-Keyesians (to the extent that they still exist) need something more than hot air to sustain them. Perhaps you would be good enough to “review the transcripts of the Alan Keyes is Making Sense show and see if you can find any criticisms of President Bush.”
Since 9/11, President Bush’s approval ratings have been hovering at or above 80%. If 80% of Americans think President Bush is doing a great job, that means that 80% are likely to be offended if Alan Keyes says otherwise - and they might not watch the show.
Of the 20% or less of Americans who disapprove of President Bush, most will be far-left, die-hard Democrats, who will not agree with Keyes on anything else, so they are not a good target audience. The far-right remainder will not be enough people to be a good target audience.
Therefore, Dr. Keyes is not going to criticize the President on his TV show, because he wants to keep his TV show, and he needs an audience to do that.