Clive James is just another Romano. Did you read his contorted, embarrassing attempt to understand Wittgenstein? James thinks that knowing a person's biography is the same thing as knowing their thought. So, he spends most of his article on Wittgenstein talking about the Wittgenstein mystique. Since James doesn't understand Wittgenstein, surely it must all be a shell game. Similarly, since James can't make head or tales of Heidegger or Sartre, and these dudes had some pretty bleak biographies, it must be that their thought is entirely devoted to divorcing their reality from existence. Except that claiming "separating existence from facts" was the goal of either Sartre's or Heidegger's philosophy is complete bunk.

As for Mr. Romano, the original poster is correct. Romano does not understand Heidegger's writing. It is painfully clear when he talks about Dasein.