COUNTER-PUNCH

Jim Glassman makes a persuasive case in defense of Bill Bennett. Again, my only beef is with Bennett’s close association with moral scolds and puritans. But he isn’t guilty by association and has nothing to answer for. And again, if the standard for anyone in public life trying to support morality and virtue is that they be saints – even according to other people’s standards – then we’ll have no upholding of morality at all. That’s the point of privacy in a liberal society. Without it, moral standards in our public life become all but impossible. What I really want to see is Bennett debate Dobson on the morality of gambling. But that won’t happen, will it?