When I was a kid, Ben Stein was that guy who appeared in comedy films as the comically serious guy or as the government employee.

By the time I was a teen, I was watching “Win Ben Stein’s Money,” which was actually pretty good as far as quiz shows go.

Now that I’m an adult, I can only look back at my younger self and thank Dog I was too stupid to realize just how much of an ass this guy really is.