A great metaphor

It was like watching a blacksmith at work while he whistled opera.

It's from Lileks' column today. Here's the context: Rudy Giuliani spoke at the RNC and this is the Conventioners' point-of-view:

They hear Rudy say this:

Neither party has a monopoly on virtue; we don’t have all the right ideas, they don’t have all the wrong ideas, but I do believe there are times in history when our ideas are more necessary, and more important, and critical. And this is one of those times – when we are facing war and danger.

Privately, of course, people feel a little stronger about the distribution of right and wrong, but that’s for the back room when ties loosen and the bottles open. But what Giuliani did was completely typical: aggressive graciousness. It’s why people who disagree with many of his positions admire him greatly, and why he spoke Monday night. And dang: he was good. He was hard: first time I’ve heard someone get up and slam Arafat by name in such a context. A sharp elbow at Germany. A Kerry section played mostly for laughs. An amazing last 10 minutes - dodged nothing. It was like watching a blacksmith at work while he whistled opera.[emphasis added]

Irrespective of your political position, the metaphor is great, I think.