Conservatives are right to condemn liberal fanatics who jokingly wish for Cheney's death, or compare Bush to Hitler, but we should also denounce right wing celebrities who violate standards of decency.

Ann Coulter is an important, consistently provocative commentator but she needs to apologize for applying an anti-homosexual slur to presidential candidate John Edwards. It's bad enough to invoke this explosive "f-word" in public address to a conservative audience, but it's totally unacceptable to direct it at Edwards--happily married for 29 years and the father of five children, one of whom died in a tragic accident.

Edwards deserves condemnation for his left wing politics, his naked opportunism, even for his career as an ambulance-chasing lawyer, but smearing him as secretly gay degrades public discourse.

I like and admire Ann Coulter, but if she insists on marginalizing herself, we shouldn't allow her to drag the conservative movement with her to the fringe.

Since Ann could probably easily attribute close to half of all her recent book sales to broadcast and print opportunities she has garnered with Salem nationwide, I hope she will listen to what her friends are saying back to her.

I also think that Medved is really on target when referring to the Edwards' marriage, and the tragedy of their lost child. Since Ann is fronting for a party in which only one of the three front runners has been married to only one woman - she has little cause to attack what appears to be a 29 year effort of success.