Saturday, June 17, 2006

Even if she could write, she'd still be a cunt

Polemicist Ann Coulter has elbowed her way into the news again, with a new book that among other outrages, calls the 9/11 widows "witches" and suggests they are enjoying their husbands' deaths. The widows responded succinctly and gracefully, as if not willing to give Coulter any more than a few seconds of thought. Which is about what she deserves.

The first time I saw Ann Coulter interviewed, I was surprised at how unimpressed I was. Her reputation for "sharp political commentary" preceeding her, I thought she might offer some interesting right-wing perspective. Ummm, no. Throwing bombs is what Coulter does; she brings little to the table in terms of analysis. And for all her ranting, she really doesn't know that much about politics and world events. (I saw her insist to a CBC interviewer that Canada had sent troops to VietNam, something any high school kid would know is not the case.) Coulter calls names, slings shit and makes "outrageous" statements, and lately, is becoming a caricature of herself. Why not? Outrageous sells books, a task her writing skills alone wouldn't be up to. But you have to wonder how soul-sucking it must be to make a living by being so despised that googling your name with "is a cunt" brings up over 120,000 hits.