Closing up Crossfire in the wake of the Rabin assassination, Michael Kinsley made a plea for the survival of Israel’s unique style of democracy. ” Not only is … dissent and disagreement crucial to a democracy,” Kinsley said, “but the raucousness of dissent is in Some ways one of the glories of Israeli democracy in particular. It’s a rip-roaring democracy. It’s one of its great strengths, especially in the Middle East where there’s very little of that, and no one should call for that to be eliminated.” Whereupon former Bush chief of staff John Sununu entered the nature vs. nurture debate in a really novel way:
SUNUNU: I don’t think that’s going to be eliminated. It’s not in the genes, Michael …
KINSLEY: Be very careful, John.
SUNUNU: But it — it’s part of the Mediterranean…
KINSLEy: We both have Middle Eastern genes.
SUNUNU: It’s the Mediterranean nature.
KINSLEY: We both have Middle Eastern genes, we should make that clear.
SUNUNU: That’s my point!
Disagreement is in the genes: In Whose genes, exactly, John ? ”
