Tariq Ali is writing non-fiction again because recent history is so fascinating to him. “We are in a world which is very obsessed with individuals, celebrity culture,” Ali told Reuters. “The mistake is to think of the President of the United States as a celebrity.”

That’s a good observation, but note the incredible statement about presidents and Caesars which follows it. It’s ridiculous statements like Bush is similar to Caligula that make many of us disbelieve many modern opinion writers.