Stupider Than I

Everyone in the blogging world is probably all over this one, but I'll toss in. Delightfully charming Ann Coulter, when faced with hecklers at a recent function, said this:

"I love to engage in repartee with people who are stupider than I am," Coulter told the crowd of 2,600 Wednesday.

Before cutting off her speech after about 15 minutes, Coulter called Bill Clinton an "executive buffoon" who won the presidency only because Ross Perot took 19 percent of the vote.

Coulter's appearance prompted protests from several student groups. About 100 people rallied outside the auditorium where she spoke, saying she spread a message of intolerance.

"We encourage diverse opinion at UConn, but this is blatant hate speech," said Eric Knudsen, a 19-year-old sophomore journalism and social welfare major who heads campus group Students Against Hate.

So considerate, Ms. Coulter. But nobody's claimed you to be the considerate type, including yourself.

Can somebody explain to me precisely what Ann Coulter contributes to the debates? She is a figure of distration, in my opinion, who seems most functional as a lightning-rod for controversy in order to manipulate issues. She never says anything relevant or even interesting...