Murray has been trying to rehabilitate himself among the eastern seaboard establishment, which I think is where his sentimental and intellectual heart lies, for over twenty years now. I did read “The Bell Curve” when it came out. The time was ripe for a mix of race, class, IQ and statistics clearly calculated to provoke and, frankly, if Murray hadn’t written it, some other “enterprising” young person on the margins of academia probably would have. The formula was simple: blur the line as much as possible between correlation and causation, step back, and watch the fun. He is living proof that you can make a very tidy living on the talk circuit by denying you ever said something most people think you did.