Coulter Fallout

The major Republican candidates are distancing themselves from Ann Coulter's attack on John Edwards. A spokesman for Mitt Romney, who claims that although Romney introduced Coulter, he was not in the room when she spoke, says, “It was an offensive remark. Governor Romney believes all people should be treated with dignity and respect.” Rudy Giuliani said, “The comments were completely inappropriate and there should be no place for such name-calling in political debate.” John McCain, who did not attend the CPAC conference, said, “The comments were wildly inappropriate." Contrary to earlier reports, Dick Cheney was not in the audience.

John Edwards is already trying to spin Coulter's attack into a fundraising tool, asking supporters to contribute $100,000 in "Coulter Cash". Coulter herself has tried to downplay her remarks, telling the NY Times that she was joking, saying, "I would never insults gays by comparing them to John Edwards. That would be mean." (Anybody buying that?)

It's satisfying to see the Republicans repudiate Ann Coulter in this instance. What will be interesting will to be to see who hires her next. It seems that any future alliances with Coulter could be seen as a de facto endorsement of her views. That never bothered the Republicans before now, but dare we hope that she's finally crossed the line, even for them?
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