News For The Thinking Impaired

Apparently, Ann Coulter called John Edwards a faggot and I'm supposed to care. Generally speaking, faggot is nice compared to some of the things I call politicians when I'm in full on rant mode. I can't say some author calling a politician a faggot affects me too much one way or another.

Let us engage the brain for just a moment. Coulter's appeal comes in large part because of her rhetorical bomb-throwing, not despite it. Will her comment offend people who didn't like Ann Coulter or CPAC Republicans generally? Yes. Will anyone who was there and applauded give a rat's ass about the people who are offended? No. Will it move some people away from Mitt Romney? Maybe. Will this matter in November of '08? I'm betting not. All the people who whine about the coarsening of political discourse in this country need to gain some historical perspective, as calling someone a faggot is far from as bad as it's been in the past.

Bottom line? It doesn't matter. Ann Coulter is not running for office, so you can't vote for (or against) her. John Edwards isn't in a postion to complain too much about hate speech, given the people he associated and unassociated with in past weeks. Sound and fury, signifying nothing.

We have 18 months of partisan bickering to enjoy. I'm just enthralled at the prospect.