When I first started watching Crossfire a number of years ago, the hosts were Pat Buchanan on the right and Tom Braden on the left. Every night, Buchanan would simply trounce Braden. Braden was so awful, my friends and I were convinced he was secretly a conservative trying to make Buchanan and the Conservative cause look good by portraying liberals as slow-witted and unreasonable.
I think pcl may be playing the Tom Braden role on this forum.