Ben Stein Vilified After Defending IMF Boss

Ben Stein is taking an Internet whipping for his defense of Dominique Strauss-Kahn in the American Spectator. Among Stein's arguments: "If he is such a womanizer and violent guy with women, why didn't he ever get charged until now? " and, skeptical of claims that DSK overpowered the woman: "How? Did he have a gun? Did he have a knife? He's a short fat old man." Also: "People accuse other people of crimes all of the time. What do we know about the complainant besides that she is a hotel maid? "

A sampling of reaction:

• ED Kain, Forbes: "Can we all stop taking Stein seriously now? He’s made a fool out of himself for the past few years ... and now this bizarre blame-the-victim defense wherein apparently rich and powerful people can do no wrong."
• Melissa Bell, Washington Post: After offering her own summary of Stein's arguments ("Economists don't rape people!"), she writes: "With defenders like these, Strauss-Kahn really doesn’t need any enemies."
• Alex Pareene, Salon: "Stein says it is totally possible that DSK is guilty of the crime he's been arrested for, but what he is actually, really saying is that DSK is totally not guilty of the crime, because he is a rich economist, and maids are crazy bitches."

(More Ben Stein stories.)