Did I ever write a post about the great Manzi-Levin feud? A quick search says I didn’t. Nickel summary, then: NRO contributor Jim Manzi, who accepts the fact of global warming but opposes aggressive action to fight it (see here), opened up Levin’s Liberty and Tyranny the other day and read his chapter on climate change. Manzi was appalled at the hackish level of Levin’s rant and wrote a post saying so. Levin responded in the fourth grade vernacular that he specializes in.
(Seriously. The guy makes up names like “Keith Overbite” and “Susan Dumass” for his enemies. He brags about how great he was at their age and how little they’ve accomplished compared to him. He tosses out juvenile insults like M&Ms. He really, genuinely, sounds like a fourth grader with a temper problem.)
Anyway, NRO’s Kevin Williamson, after reading a Levin tirade today directed at Ross Douthat, has seen the light:
When I first read Manzi’s much-remarked-upon remarks re: Mark, I thought them unduly harsh. I am revising that opinion, just a little.
I guess a little is better than nothing. I mean, even Rush Limbaugh usually manages to sound like an adult. A crazy one to be sure, but an adult. Levin, on the other hand, is a petulant child. He needs a few days in detention hall, not a cheering squad.
