Ann Coulter's "Guilty", or Why I love Matt Lauer

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I've always been a big fan of Matt Lauer's. While his job on The Today Show often calls for him to do what most of us consider journalistic fluff, occasionally he gets to show his real talent for pointing out people's hypocrisy (anyone remember his interview with Tom Cruise about post-partum depression and anti-depressants?). This morning, Lauer took on one of my least favorite people, Ann Coulter. It seems Coulter is promoting a new book Guilty, in which she claims, among other things, that all of society's ills are to blame on the single mother. While this certainly isn't a new argument, Coulter makes the argument with such venom that it is difficult to get past her obvious hatred for women. Lauer deftly questions both her points and her tone. Coulter is, as usual, condescending and, to quote Tom Cruise from the aforementioned infamous interview, "glib."

On a side note, one of the reasons I dislike Ann Coulter (and Dr. Laura and their various cohorts) is that they bash the very institutions that got them where they are today. Coulter and Dr. Laura (sorry my references aren't more up-to-date; it's early here in CU Land) are both very outspoken against feminism and feminists, be they of the first, second, third, or fourth waves. Coulter's numerous idiotic statements, such as when she said in a 2003 interview with The Guardian that "It would be a much better country if women did not vote. That is simply a fact. In fact, in every presidential election since 1950—except Goldwater in '64—the Republican would have won, if only the men had voted," reveal her true ignorance. If women were still denied the right to vote, it is highly unlikely she'd have an international audience with whom to share her regressive ideas.