Great Moments In Conservative Punditry

On February 08, 2005, Jonah Goldberg penned this classic. Goldberg used his column to make a bet with Middle East Professor Juan Cole.

Anyway, I do think my judgment is superior to his when it comes to the big picture. So, I have an idea: Since he doesn't want to debate anything except his own brilliance, let's make a bet. I predict that Iraq won't have a civil war, that it will have a viable constitution, and that a majority of Iraqis and Americans will, in two years time, agree that the war was worth it. I'll bet $1,000 (which I can hardly spare right now). This way neither of us can hide behind clever word play or CV reading. If there's another reasonable wager Cole wants to offer which would measure our judgment, I'm all ears. Money where your mouth is, doc.

Cole was disgusted by the bet.

"He is proposing a wager on the backs of Iraqis," wrote Cole. "Millions of Iraqis are going through winter with insufficient heating oil. They are jobless."

Needless to say, Cole did not accept the bet. He received ridicule in the conservative blogosphere for not being man enough to put his "money where his mouth is." Since Goldberg did the chest-thimping, I like to see him donate $1,000 to a worthy charity. That would be money meeting mouth.