A Friend Stopped By | 01/05/2009 8:00 am

Coulter on Caroline Kennedy: 'Every Time She Opens Her Mouth It Gets Worse'

(and other gentle musings from the irritatingly leggy author of Guilty: Liberal ‘Victims’ and Their Assault on America)

By Myrna Blyth

Amazon

Ann Coulter is at it again. Guilty: Liberal "Victims" and Their Assault on America (Crown Forum), the newest book from the leggy, blonde, irritatingly slender liberal-basher hits bookstores this week and is already climbing Amazon’s bestseller list. And so the usual media Ann-a-rama has begun with Coulter launching the book on her pal Sean Hannity’s radio and TV shows. She’ll be on “Today” on Tuesday and will follow that with countless interviews. UPDATE: She was supposed to be on "Today" on Tuesday but was abruptly cancelled. "Today" claims it was because of "breaking news." Coulter isn’t buying that. The "Today" cancellation just adds to the controversy she is the master at creating. Undoubtedly she will do countless other interviews. -Myrna

Coulter’s publicist says she never turns down an interview, even on radio talk shows that sound as if they emanate from someone’s garage. She knows her people are listening and buying thousands of copies of her books. She has already had six New York Times mega-bestsellers. Yes, there is a vast right-wing book-buying public who loves a girl who can call JFK “a venereal-disease-ridden sexual profligate and drug addict”; who never forget that “Sen. Ted Kennedy drove Mary Jo Kopechne off the Chappaquiddick Bridge”; who can recall that “President Clinton walked to and from church every Sunday carrying a ten-pound bible for the cameras – and then returned from church on Palm Sunday, 1996, to use a cigar as a sexual aid on Monica Lewinsky”; who can document, in footnote after footnote, that the Swift Boat Veterans were correct in their condemnation of the war record of “the mountebank Kerry.”

Judging by his Cabinet choices, Obama may not be as crazy as I thought he was. That may be worse for my career but better for the country.

I talked to Coulter about Guilty as she was about to embark on her media tour. The book is (no surprise) another in her attacks against liberals. Her thesis this time is that liberals always act like they are being victimized, primarily by the Republican Attack Machine. While in fact, they, with the help of a very biased media, tend to victimize all who disagree with them. She has written about media bias before. “I really didn’t intend to make the book so much about the media,” she told me, "but I just couldn’t help it because the media has so much power. They like to act as if they are powerless, but everything today is about the media. I just had to point out all their dirty little tricks. If you are Paul Revere you have to sound the alarm.”

Now, let’s get one thing straight. I’m a member of the media who is about as unbiased in my political leanings as, say, The New York Times. In general, I think Ann is often more right than wrong, no pun intended. Oh, sure, she goes over the top once in a while, but when she does she is no more unfair or unbalanced then, say, Frank Rich or Keith Olbermann. And she is a lot funnier. In fact, she is often laugh-out-loud funny. And as for being a judge of the true character of some of our political leaders, do remember it was Ann who appraised John Edwards correctly long before his supporters and, unfortunately, Elizabeth Edwards ever did.

Guilty is full of interesting set-pieces such as her report on how the Media Attack Machine turned, during primary season, on their longtime dearly beloved Bill Clinton. She writes, “Obama emerged from the clouds, and at long last, liberals were finished with the Clintons … It took a decade but journalists finally noticed that Clinton getting serviced by a White House intern whose name he couldn’t recall may not have been the equivalent of the Gettysburg Address.” She points out that journalists acted as if Clinton had changed, rather than as if they were no longer covering up for him. Todd Purdum in Vanity Fair said Clinton’s “cavernous narcissism” was related to his triple-bypass surgery. Coulter writes, “Yes, who doesn’t know someone who, after open-heart surgery, becomes an egomaniacal, pathologically lying horndog?”

1270 Reader Comments (so far…) Sign In or Register to comment

I mean the history that was already made, the election. No one knows what the rest of it will be. The fact that most of the media, including a lot of conservatives,( you must admit) was on Obama’s side when comparing the candidates shows that they were reading the electorate right. This really was a “change” election and could only have happened because of the failure of the Bush presidency. Your statement ” bought & manipulated” is not born out by facts, I think, or, I would be interested in what your facts are. If you are talking about the money he raised, remember that most of it was willingly given, in small amounts, by ordinary people like me who have never donated before By the way, Happy New Year, Marjorie. I look forward to our conversations as this thing plays out.

By EKA - on 01/05/2009 6:22 pm

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EKA In the last two weeks of the election Obama received a large amount of money donated through prepaid credit cards. They were first time donors but untraceable beyond that fact. Anyone could have bought the credit cards, handed them out to voters who then sent them in as donations. Soros could have been behind it. Media matters, move on - who knows, and we probably never will because they are not even investigating it, don’t feel they need to. There are the same amount of dems and repubs on the board, and they trade off if they will investigate or not. That is wrong. We will pay a high price for further destruction of the democratic process. Bush’s lawyers got around issues quite a bit, if Bush or a republican had the same donors, there would be no end to the investigations. I did not agree with that and I don’t agree with the source of donors not being investigated.

By Frannie Em on 01/06/2009 2:25 am

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Frannie You know perception is a funny thing, and it is swayed by which side you are on. As an early Obama supporter, I had my antennae out there a few years ago to find others who felt the same way, and from my point of view, I saw something incredible happen this year. I saw my kids, pretty politically savvy from years of listening to me, really engage this year, to the point of sending links to Obama speeches to their friends … just an anecdote, but it happened with the children of all of my friends. Political discussions at every gathering. I know 8 Republican friends and family members who voted Democratic for the first time in years … again an anecdote, but indicative of something different this year. So when I hear of money coming in, I perceive it as just a sign of what I was observing and I am not questioning it. BUT, if you were NOT for Obama, of course you would see it as suspicious. There HAD to be something fishy . I saw this year as the best of the Democratic process, the energy of the electorate, the people who voted for the first time, the people like me who gave money for the first time, the faces of the people on election night. This election was not stolen. What am I nervous about ? NO ONE can live up to the hopes we have put on this man and expectations are way too high. We shall see, won’t we ?

By EKA - on 01/06/2009 7:56 pm

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EKA I am not disappointed in the election. Someone wins and someone loses. PE Obama is going to be my president and I prefer that he be successful. If he and his team are successful, then our country will be more successful. I worry that the USA will have a difficult time withstanding anymore catastrophic crisis. I was a democrat since the first time I voted and then went Independent because I don’t like the direction our country is going in, nor did I believe that any one party had the answers. After becoming an overtaxed business owner in California, I became more fiscally conservative. Socially more moderate to liberal. There are many things I like about Obama as well as I liked about McCain. So I am not really one side or the other, I don’t think I could ever be that way again. I actually wish I could, it would be a lot easier. I know that you think my perception is filtered by my political beliefs, well sure, everyone’s are, pretty much without exception, but what most people on this thread don’t understand about me is that I avoid personalizing political personalities. I don’t give my vote over to a candidate or the machine easily. It is too easy to fall into all of they media driven hype. I don’t want my perception influenced by the media. It is not easy to escape, but that is what I work for within myself. If the media has information on votes or successes, willingness to work in a bi-partisan effort and so on about a candidate - I digest it until something, in me clicks or tilts about the candidate. Like anyone else, it is like they reveal something that either demonstrates what I want from a candidate or not. Sometimes it takes a long time. I have just become wary over the years. I don’t vote a straight party ticket, nor do I elevate a single human being over others. I am responsible for me and my behavior and my world based on the level of my perception. Sometimes aware and sometimes asleep, but I get up and try again the next day. Obama has changed the political arena forevermore. It will never be the same. It is wonderful milestone for our country to elect an African American as President. A tremendous thing was accomplished. The thing is, I always knew it would happen. What is important is that he knew either, how to get very close, or as has been proven, how to get it done. I think that says a lot. I understand and appreciate what you are kindly saying about perception, as well as understand the limiting nature of perception. I also know that it is a rare individual that does not put their own perception on someone else’s motivations. As to the money coming in, for me principles before personalities are what is important, so not matter who won, I believe it should be looked into. I believe it is a legitimate question. There has been so much destruction of our democratic system over the last 12 years that to me the maintaining of our democratic integrity must be renewed and maintained. If they can’t stand up to the inquiry then how can the stand up to Putin or Ass - mindinjad (lol oops) My heart goes out to PE Obama because of the expectations that he has set himself up for by running on a campaign of hope and change. Because, as Pi has so eloquently stated, anyone can ascribe what they mean by that, so many will have different expectations. My other concern is that my son is still in the army (out in June) but he said word has come down that PE Obama wants to send 30,000 into Afghanistan so he is afraid he will be stop lossed. As commander in chief, PE Obama will soon be my son’s boss and will have control over his life. I just hope he knows what he is doing.

By Frannie Em on 01/07/2009 2:24 am

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Eka Sorry it was so long, but I wanted to add, I don’t even think he needed that money to win. He would have won without it, whether money is legal or not.

By Frannie Em on 01/07/2009 2:29 am

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Frannie, Thanks for the thoughtful response. And, no, I don’t put you into the knee-jerk partisan crowd. You and I are on the same page about perception, we can’t help it, our life experiences set our minds into a way of thinking. But I do believe that there are basic conservative or liberal “types” . My sister is a natural conservative, she has always been a ” pull yourself up by your own bootstraps ’ type, has the first penny she ever earned, used to put her toys away and play with mine until they broke and then bring out her new ones, ( LOL )distrusts any government and thinks people will screw her if given the chance. I am the total opposite, (maybe because we shared a room growing up ! ) I see government as doing the “big” things that individuals cant, Civil rights, Soc. Security, environmental , public works, etc. I pay taxes willingly, and don’t mind my tax money going to help people… a real “bleeding heart ” type, can’t help it. I guess we need both types to keep each other in check, I also believe in the Ying & yang principle, and see a swing in the pendulum going on now. As a media geek, I learned a long time ago not to get my information from one source. And, like you, once i have enough information I really think i can see the essense of truth bubble up, admittedly , it is usually on the Liberal side, but there is my perception coming into play. But, like I see as Obama’s best characteristic, I love to hear both sides and feel confident enough to take a good argument of opposing views and them make up my mind. I empathize with you about your son, I can imaging the sleepless nights, and share your concern about Afghanistan. I am very concerned about Obama’s plan. I see Afghanistan as much worse than the quagmire Viet Nam was, see no “military” option, and no way out. Can only be “won” by careful diplomacy, education, economic support and world cooperation. I could care less if we “get’ Bin laden…. if he is still alive, I would like to marginalize him and make his ideas impotent. I pray he gets out in June. Right now, i am very optimistic about Obama, his whole modus operandi appeals to me, I think he is the man for the moment, but, maybe this bad situation is bigger than him. I hope not !!

By EKA - on 01/07/2009 12:16 pm

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EKA Thanks back atcha. LOL I love the description of your sister. I kept wondering if there was any of me in her, naw, I don’t think people are going to screw me over, I think I trust too much at times. Do it with no expectations and then I am not disappointed. LOL For the most part I don’t mind paying my taxes, especially if it helps people. Thanks to many, I had a lot of help along the way. It is the over bloated bureaucracy, and the wasteful use of our taxes that upset me. All the perks and pleasures that our congress people have on the back of the American taxpayer, as jobs fly out the window to China, Indonesia, The Philipines, and India. I read about your husband having to let employees go, we had to do it as well. We have a lot of work that is in the wings ready to break, but it hasn’t happened yet and when it does, we will bring them back. We feel terrible, but there is nothing that we can do. We kept them a month longer than we should have so they could get through Christmas. Ouch. Unless politicians like Truman, then the Kennedy Brothers, and Johnson, listened to the civil rights leaders and the urging of the African Americans, then civil rights would have taken much longer. We do evolve, by people or groups testing the misperceptions of a society through the courts. It takes time, but we evolve. Civil rights was a major issue, but I am a firm believer in States Rights and responsibilities. The bigger the federal govt gets, the more taxes we pay, and in many ways, it seems like less gets done. Look what happened with Katrina. The feds were a mess. Gov Jindal of Louisiana did an excellent job this past hurricane season. Watching him on the news mobilizing people was like viewing a well choreographed dance. I agree with you that the pendulum swings back and forth. I never looked at is as the yin and the yang because to me it always seemed more of a reactionary process between the left and the right. Ford was associated with the Nixon Administration and it brought in Carter. Carter went very liberal and the country had great problems, so in reaction, Reagan won in a landslide. There was relative prosperity so stick with the Republicans and elect Bush 1. Well, he didn’t know how to invest his high poll numbers, but raised taxes instead as well as we had a huge deficit, so don’t want to re-elect the old guy (and Perot ate into Bush’s vote) so we tried on the young personable new guy Clinton. He was more like us. We all knew he inhaled but thought it was funny how he got around it. Then it was between the rich southern democratic VP and the rich north eastern (although he calls himself a Texan) guy, who won the presidency because he outfoxed the southern guy in the courts. THen the country went crazy, and it got harder with 9/11 and the media loved it. They could just be lazy or run amuck, it didn’t matter. The people of the country wanted things to settle down and get back to normal, so they picked an intelligent and well spoke, and measured man, and we are off on a new adventure. If we swing too far to the left again there will be an opposite and equal reaction to the right, what is that theory in physics? For Afghanistan, they produce opium poppies that they sell for heroine. I think we should set up an infrastructure that would encourage the rest of the world to buy the drugs to make morphine for hospitals. Why not? That is what they grow, then when they get legit they may be able to afford to grow other crops. I don’t know if the warlords and Al Qaeda would like that because they make so much money off of heroine. We shall see. Commerce, jobs and education is what they crave. Bush should have kept his eye on the ball. I don’t know if the current situation is bigger than Obama, but no one else has been able to solve it. The challenges will either make him or break him but he wanted the test, and it is coming. It is better for the country if he is successful.

By Frannie Em on 01/08/2009 12:22 am

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EKA: Happy New Year,… And the same to you. Here’s hoping 2009 will be prosperous and bright. One thing you must always remember is that about 47% of the electorate did not vote for the Hope and Change ideology because they don’t buy into it. What descended on us tonight is proof of it, Ann Coulter be damned. Obama is really going to have to dance fast and hard to bring all these folks into the fold, otherwise he will continually be distracted by the Blagos of this world — often people within his own party.

By Marjorie C. on 01/06/2009 7:56 am

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Marjorie, Well, of course he will not bring all the people along with him, there has never been an election 100% to 0, but he won with a bigger percentage than anyone in a while. The ONLY thing that will change peoples minds is if things begin to get better, and he gets stuff done …… but then there will be the people who will say it got done for any other reason than him. I don’t care who does it, I just hope SOMETHING gets us back on track. My husband had to lay 8 people off and it made him sick to do it. We all really need to work together to solve some of these problems.

By EKA - on 01/06/2009 8:11 pm