Professional Arguer

And let's not forget James J. Kilpatrick, who passed away a few days ago.  An old-school journalist, he rose to prominence in the pre-Andy Rooney days of 60 Minutes as the conservative half of the "Point-Counterpoint" mini-debates.  His liberal partner was Shana Alexander, who died five years ago.  They  became so famous they were parodied on SNL by Jane Curtin and Dan Aykroyd.



They're also parodied in The Kentucky Fried Movie and Airplane! (written by the same people).  In the latter, the Kilpatrick stand-in basically says the passengers bought their tickets, they knew what they were getting into, who cares if they crash.

Kilpatrick and Alexander cashed in a bit by touring the country together, discussing political issues of the day.  I actually attended one of these events.  They took questions at the end.  I stood in line and when I got to the microphone announced I wouldn't be voting in the upcoming election.  Everyone hissed and booed.  When they quieted down, I noted (truthfully) I was a Canadian citizen. It got a laugh, of course, but the hate that came at me first was more than expected.