In the amazing race to hold onto a fleeting fifteen minutes of fame, many celebrities realize one simple truth: Publicity is Publicity, even if it’s bad. 

     It’s always been my contention that Rush Limbaugh was an entertainer, a bad comedian.  I’ve seen Ann Coulter the same way.  And to be fair, Al Franken, too.
     They stand up, tell a bunch of jokes, get people pissed off, and an angry mob of people who hate them go out and buy their books.  It’s freakin’ brilliant, really!
     However, being balanced, there are just as many people who hang on their every word, treating each outrageous statement as the Gospel Truth (of course, I think there are more people following Al Franken, but that’s beside the point).

     I can’t help but wonder — how would people have reacted if Ann Coulter had first been presented on Saturday Night Live, and Al Franken had been a speaker and author?  Or if Rush Limbaugh had been a character in many popular comedies (including the Simpsons) and Harry Shearer had been a radio talk show host?

     In checking out one of Sam’s finds from a while back (last December’s “Ned Flanders Roasts Ann Coulter“), I ran across yet another great article on Eat the Press (thus the Harry Shearer reference).
     Entitled “The Stephen Colbert-Ann Coulter Challenge,” the article (excerpted from New York magazine) draws some interesting parallels between the two entertainers.  It also brings up the question of why Liberals will bash Coulter so fervently, when the fact is that she and Colbert may be very much the same sort “character.”
     Of course I completely agree with that, having held the opinion that she’s nothing more than a bad comedian for several years.  And the same goes for Rish Limbaugh.  And Al Franken.

     But those Dixie Chicks — they’re just damn Communists!