So there was a genuine reason for someone not of Bolt’s political persuasion to go along: how would this very prolific, powerful influence on our political landscape do in an arena not of his choosing? Against a live, unpredictable and probably hostile audience willing to challenge him?

The answer, unfortunately, was not forthcoming; the long-awaited Great Clash of Ideas in the hopefully named Drama Theatre never materialised. What transpired instead was an hour-long fizzer: half puff-piece interview, half talking points regurgitation.

Besides his standard denunciations of the ABC, the Racial Discrimination Act, climate change “warmism” – “In what other field of human endeavour do you hear ‘the science is settled’? What kind of moron says that?” – Bolt happily used the furore around his appearance to play the martyr card when it suited. “The security you’ve had to arrange for this event, it’s not to save you!” he joked to the audience early on, putting forward an argument that his dangerous ideas place himself in more danger than anybody else.

FODI cofounder Simon Longstaff, who MCed the event and interviewed Bolt for close to an hour, was less of a foil than he was a wet napkin. 

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/sep/04/andrew-bolt-fails-to-electrify-at-festival-of-dangerous-ideas-libertarian-love-in

Audience: a waste of a good hour of your life...

The Bolt would have pronounced a lot of crap as the Gospel of Andrew...