Yes. Yes, he can.

Over at his brand spanking new blog, the always brilliant Michael Brendan Dougherty offers a truly incisive, enlightening defense of Chesterton, which should be read in full, but here’s a bite anyway:

If I were going to produce a polemic against Karen Armstrong’s book The History of God – and I dearly would like to – you might be satisfied with a clever review. You wouldn’t chastise me for failing to produce the Summa Theologica. To criticize Chesterton in this regard seems unfair. Besides The Everlasting Man, his books are mostly recycled newspaper material. Next to a considered book of philosophy, Chesterton seems a little smug. Next to a cartoon and letters to the editor and in response to his actual opponents, he’s not only a genius, but a delightful one.

Take a look around while you’re over there, for original takes on everything from the aborted Koran burning to Wells Tower.