[skeeter]

Having read Hitchens stuff for nearly twenty years now I actually consider this piece to be complimentary of Bush, in a backhanded way.

Hitchens is an elitist, and this is as close as he will ever come to complimenting a US president. Aside from the cheap shots most of this article is pretty good.

[dead]

That's the way I read it as well. He has to be a wiseass, as that's his style, but it was meant as compliment.

[Moby Grape]

It seems to me that Hitchens is complimentary, as you have said, but seems to be lamenting the fact (in his view) W is unable to articulate powerfully emough the danger the free world faces...that W can SEE it, but can't EXPRESS it.