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November 13, 2004

Review: "How to Talk to a Liberal (If You Must)" by Ann Coulter (3.5 moose)

3.5 moose bookIt seems to me that whenever someone wants to do a "moral equivalency" to some whacked-lefty like Michael Moore, Ann Coulter is their proof that "both sides do it."

Well, I disagree. It is true that Ms. Coulter has a sharp tongue, and goes a bit further than I would with some of her comments, but she doesn't make up facts or distort the truth (that is, unlike the Michael Moore's of this world, she doesn't lie).

"How to Talk to a Liberal (If You Must)" is almost entirely a collection of past columns she has written, including some that were rejected (it's a shame, however, it didn't include the one USA Today zapped during the Democratic National Convention, "Put the Speakers in a Cage"). Some chapter titles should give you an idea of what she covers:

And so on...

Okay, I'll admit it...her columns and books are a guilty pleasure -- but I also can't help but feel she is a wonderful person underneath that razor-sharp tongue -- and you can't impugn her logic.

Strangely enough, with the myriad great articles included in the book, the one that pops up first in my memory is about dating in Washington, D.C, "Capital Punishment." An excerpt:

But since all my stuff is in D.C., I do have to drop in occasionally. Consequently, I've become a minor authority on dating in Washington. Maybe not dating exactly but one crucial element of any date: "the Ask." Boys in Washington don't know how to ask for a date. What they do is try to trick you into asking them for a date. They say, "I know you're really busy, so call me when you'd like to go out to dinner" or "Call me when you're back in Washington" or, my favorite, "Are we ever going to get together?"

What are you supposed to say to completely insane things like that? I've never figured that out, which is whey these conversations tend to end in hostile silences. "Call me when you'd like to go out to dinner" isn't asking for a date; it's asking me to ask you for a date.

For my male readers in Washington, asking for a date entails these indispensable components: an express request for a female's company on a particular date for a specific activity. Oh yes, and the request has to be made to the female herself. Roughly once every two weeks, I get a female on my answering machine asking me if I'd like to go out with some dumbass male friend of hers who's too afraid to call me himself. (For those outside Washington, I'm not kidding.)

This isn't a screeching, hate-filled, anti-male screed. It is a schreeching, hate-filled anti-D.C. screed. There's no large sociological point about relationships between sexes here. It's Washington.

Now imagine that tact when you are discussing real hot-button political issues :-)

It's a very good book. I probably would have given it four moose except I'm not a big fan of "old" articles, and kind of felt like a bait-and-switch was done on me when I ordered it (I didn't realize it was a compendium of previous works). Neither is Ms. Coulter's fault, and I still recommend you buy the book, but my moose are mine to give or keep :-)

P.S. Although not as meaty as "How to Talk to a Liberal," I highly recommend her first book, "Treason." I'd definitely give that 4 moose, maybe 4.5 because she does such a great job disproving liberal mantras about the cold war...

Posted by alan at November 13, 2004 11:07 PM

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