It's hard to deny that he says smart things that make sense, that's probably why. Whatever people may think about what he did, he remains quite an intelligent fellow with a good knowledge of relevant matters.

It's also hard to deny he's become a brand, and most of what's attributed to him, now, comes second and third-hand from sources with a stake in viewership.

Not that this discredits anything, but if we're moving into a post-Snowden age in terms of most coverage being meta-coverage, people might need to start being concerned about the biases and motives behind stories attached to him.