Queen Ann
I can't say too much about Ann Coulter, and no, I don't mean it that way. I mean, I literally can't say too much about Ann Coulter, because I have so many conflict of interests with her that you can't trust a thing I would say, if I did say anything. Let's see: I edited a column she wrote for George. We share the same literary agent. Plus, I like her. In person, she's really quite lovely. Back at George, you couldn't have asked for a more pleasant person to work with, or a more enthusiastic supporter of the magazine. And because of those things, I only share my political differences with her...with her.
I will publicly marvel, though, at Ann's genius for publicity. Here she is,
on the cover of this week's Time magazine. The timing is a little weird, since Ann doesn't have a new book out; the piece is an "evergreen," meaning it's always timely (enough), and can be held for a slow news week. Nonetheless, she's on the cover of Time! I can't imagine how much that's worth to Ann in terms of book sales, speaking engagements, the next book contract, etc. Half a million dollars? A million?
But instead of reacting with humility and/or self-consciousness, as most writers would,
Ann is complaining that the cover photo is unflattering, and that this is evidence of liberal bias in the media. It's a brilliant way of assuring her conservative base that she hasn't sold out, hasn't gone mainstream...that she can work with the MSM, and then turn around and dis it. That is truly having your cake and eating it too.
Of course, some liberal critics think she ought to be pleased with the cover, given its alleged
original appearance....
