Read Mr. Coyne's response above - Harper's motives are far more suspect

Perhaps you need to check your dictionary. You've confused dictatorship with despot.

Dictator: ruler with total power over a country, an autocratic person
Despot: a ruler who exercises absolute power in a cruel or oppressive way.

Oxford Dictionary - look it up.

I'm sure you have both provided an excellent deconstruction of Jackson's music/career (I say I'm sure because I really don't know enough to offer an informed opinion). However, I don't know that an intellectual analysis of his musical accomplishments is going to provide an explanation for the hagiographic comments coming from all quarters. In fact, I don't think you will ever square that circle because people are reacting not to the music itself, but what the music meant to them: How it made them feel, how it got them through a rough time (I remember my brother playing "She's Out of My Life" over and over when he broke up with his girlfriend in high school - ok, maybe not the best example). Jackson's music never meant anything to me, but clearly, it meant quite a bit to a lot of people, even if his voice was weak, and he hasn't had a hit in years. I do agree with Andrew though that a dedicated memorial issue is a bit OTT

I'm sure you have both provided an excellent deconstruction of Jackson's music/career (I say I'm sure because I really don't know enough to offer an informed opinion). However, I don't know that an intellectual analysis of his musical accomplishments is going to provide an explanation for the hagiographic comments coming from all quarters. In fact, I don't think you will ever square that circle because people are reacting not to the music itself, but what the music meant to them: How it made them feel, how it got them through a rough time (I remember my brother playing "She's Out of My Life" over and over when he broke up with his girlfriend in high school - ok, maybe not the best example). Jackson's music never meant anything to me, but clearly, it meant quite a bit to a lot of people, even if his voice was weak, and he hasn't had a hit in years. I do agree with Andrew though that a dedicated memorial issue is a bit OTT.