Charles Murray of the conservative American Enterprise Institute writes in his column “The Unbearable Paradox of Glenn Beck” that he agrees with Glenn Beck 95% of the time on substantive issues. “The man is a gifted communicator. His style doesn’t happen to be one I like, but many times I’ve sat there on my sofa wishing I could make the same point as effectively.”

But he doesn’t like Beck’s style, and doesn’t find him trustworthy. “I don’t really want to shut him up. I want him to change.”

Murray, a thoughtful guy, wants intellectual honesty. He continues:

Beck uses tactics that include tiny snippets of film as proof of a person’s worldview, guilt by association, insinuation, and occasionally outright goofs….To put it another way, I as a viewer have no way to judge whether Beck is right. I have to trust that the snippets are not taken out of context, that the dubious association between A and B actually has evidence to support it, and that his numbers are accurate. It is impossible to have that trust….

What Beck does is propaganda. Maybe propaganda has its place, but let’s not kid ourselves. Glenn Beck and Keith Olberman are brothers.

In another column, “Is Glenn Beck Our Friend,” Murray writes:

My reader–the one I’m talking to with every sentence–is a bright, reasonable person who doesn’t agree with me but comes to my text ready to give me a shot. My task is to get this reader to stick with me as we work through difficult questions. If I take a cheap shot at his point of view, I’m going to lose him. If I duck an obvious objection to the argument I’m making, I’m going to lose him.

We are indeed engaged in a battle for America’s soul, but the way that battle is conducted makes a big difference….Our job is to engage in a debate on great issues and make converts to our point of view. The key word is converts–referring to people who didn’t start out agreeing with us. We shouldn’t be civil and reasonable just because we want to be nice guys. It is the only option we’ve got if we want to succeed instead of just posture. The Glenn Becks of the world posture, and make our work harder.