EJ has a new book out, about religion and politics in America. I was just skimming some info about it, and I came across something so wrong, so wholly illustrative of “the problem” it struck me mute and paralyzed for a moment. I’m hesistant to try to write a response. But it is also so simple! Sometimes I really am impressed with the mastery of Kabuki our Village players demonstrate:

E. J. Dionne is this country’s single most knowledgeable writer on religion and politics. Approaching this subject so central to the American experiment as a person of faith as well as a seasoned political reporter, Dionne brings an understanding and knowledge to the topic unique in the current debate.

Can ya guess who came up with that gem?
Cokie Roberts, of course.

Now, I’m not going to say anything negative about EJ or his understanding of religion and/in politics. But the arrogance of such a statement! Seriously, it sort of knocks me down. I guess in Cokie’s world, there are people who write and publish, and then there are The Select, those whose works are somehow elevated above and beyond that of ordinary rabble. In Cokie’s world, no one cares about those PhD types with long CVs and 0000s of published, peer-reviewed pages and years of expert training in language, rhetoric and history and no talk show appearances. How could they possibly matter?

It’s just so breathtakingly ignorant. Yes, yes, what else should I expect from a premier member of the SCLM? Still, Hey Cokie- there’s a whole wide world outside the Village! There are even people who have never heard of you. Billions, in fact. Sometimes, I envy them.

Good on EJ for playing in the rigged game of publishing in the “popular press” and getting attention. I hope the book has some value; it’s always nice when “our side” gets a chance to speak out on issues and receive some notice. As one TPM commenter asks: is there a place in this discussion for atheists? We’ll see.