Kinsley and Coulter

Michael Kinsley's literary laryngitis is cured—his voice has returned in full force with a brilliant thrashing of the administration's reaction to criticism. There should be a Nobel Simile Prize awarded for his description of Cheney returning to the theme of his recent speech: "Then he resumed hurling adjectives like an ape hurling coconuts at unwanted visitors." But there's much more than humor in the piece. His logic is airtight as he exposes the flimsy foundations of the "War Against Critics" (known in some quarters as the "War Against Fair Questions"). Compare and contrast to Ann Coulter, who's fond of the premise that any criticism of the administration (except hers) is treason; from there she sinks lower and lower until she's trapped in a tar pit of incoherent ad hominem. Kinsley's voice is every bit as refreshing as Coulter's is adolescent. Both are must reads to see where the reason and the rhyme reside in the explosive debate over Iraq.