Satire Surrenders—David Frum

Reader, perhaps you are wondering: is there anything that Britain's noisiest Marxist, George Galloway, will not do for money? And then you see this: Galloway auctioning on eBay the jacket in which he debated Christopher Hitchens. (This was the debate in which Hitchens memorably described Galloway as a "pimp for fascism." Fascism, in this case, meaning not rules about soda beverage container size, but the murderous regime of Saddam Hussein.)

Galloway's prior career includes the operation of an unregistered charity that received funds from Saddam's regime and a show on Iranian state-owned TV. He advertises this latest entrepreneurial venture as follows:

This auction is for a Emillio Batch worn by George Galloway, MP for Bradford West, during his debate with the late Christopher Hitchens, famous atheist and writer. The fiery debate took place in September 2005, in New York, where people queued around the blocks to get a glimpse of Galloway in action, displaying the oratorial skills he is famous for. The general consensus is that he totally 'owned' Hitchens and, even though the debate is nearly 7 years old, it is still a YouTube sensation, billed 'The Greatest Debate of the Decade'. Watch it here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZ7HyQ3BevM

This is your chance to own a piece of political history and, as with the last listing, all the money from the sale of this jacket will be going to charity, in particular charities in Bradford. George Galloway is known globally for his ferocious anti-war speeches and his uncompromising, combative, no-holds-barred style of debate, as was evident against his clash with Hitchens, where he was in his element. When this listing is finished, accompanying the jacket you will also receive a signed letter from George Galloway certifying its authenticity on parliamentary paper.

Happy bidding!

As of time of this posting, there have been eight bids, pushing the price to 51 pounds sterling.