Yep, he earns his crust (and a bit more, I'm sure) by making leftist news commentaries that are a bit over sensationalist and very slightly under considered (at least when contrasted with his vocabulary) and his rhetoric about voting stuck in my craw, but he actually DOES put his boots on the ground and help real campaigners make real impacts and that's not something you can say about most 'journalists'.
He's been an effective political irritant for years, even back when he was shining light on the racist heart of the BNP, long before movies and worldwide fame: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbAKUdEWzq8