I personally see the topic as being Mr Smith using the mass media to push a message which is fundamentally flawed - ie, the danger of a ditch through a 'forced descent' and diversion - despite having already chose a high risk route over water in a single engine aircraft.
Personally, I also fail to see the hassle in going IFR - after all, it's not like he hasnt got the rating! In all my flying, I go IFR, unless it is a very simple scenic flight around town. If going from A to B, IFR gives me a level of security (real or imagined in this airspace) that I am very comfortable with. If I am flying with my family, there is no way I would ever go anything other than IFR - simply irresponsible to my kids to do otherwise. Even in the rare case of a VFR transit somewhere, I still put a flight plan in - funnily enough, I have never experienced a clearance refusal.
Still, that is his barrow to push.