If Ann Coulter read my columns, she would most likely consign me to the ranks of al Qaeda or the Taliban. Bill O'Reilly might not go that far, but he would probably suggest revoking my citizenship. Dick Morris might even threaten to cut off my head.Coulter, O'Reilly and Morris are just a few of the conservative ideologues who have enjoyed literary success over the past two years. Since Sept. 11, 2001, a slew of criticisms on the media and political parties have dominated the bestseller lists. These books serve as both vicious assaults on their targets and as publicity vehicles for their celebrity authors.

Coulter published her first book, "High Crimes and Misdemeanors: The Case Against Bill Clinton," in 1998. However, this initial work - released around the time of Clinton's impeachment - did not prove overwhelmingly successful. Coulter remained somewhat visible as a talking head for a few years until 9/11 gave her a wonderful marketing tool. "Slander: Liberal Lies About the American Right" hit bookstores last year with much publicity.

"Slander" is one of the most incendiary pieces of writing I have ever read. For nearly 300 pages, Coulter attempts to drive home a single message: liberals hate the United States. Coulter accuses legendary newsman Walter Cronkite of sympathizing with terrorists while labeling Katie Couric the "affable Eva Braun" for her work on the Today show.
The current offering from Coulter, "Treason: Liberal Treachery from the Cold War to the War on Terrorism," is more of the same raving lunacy I have come to expect, but this is the most incendiary yet. The content of this book tries to drive home the same message as "Slander," only with more examples from contemporary times. Her methods are exactly the same, but instead of padding her word choice with samples from the French tongue like she did so very incorrectly in her first book, Coulter is now making up words of her own - 'Verymuchso' and 'Islamofacist' are just two examples. But the most emphatic aspect of "Treason" is not Coulter's imaginary language. This book could have easily been titled "A Love Letter to Joseph McCarthy," and there would be no noticeable difference. Coulter spends 300 pages combining her hatred for Democrats with upholding the infamous HUAC chairman as one of the greatest warriors in American history.

Bill O'Reilly is best known for his work on the Fox News Channel, where each night he berates his audience and yells at his guests. He released his third work of nonfiction (more on this later) last month, entitled "Who's Looking Out for You?" I have only seen a few excerpts at this point, and it seems that O'Reilly is as livid at everything as ever, but unlike "The O'Reilly Factor" and "The No-Spin Zone," he has taken a much more folksy approach rather than preaching from behind his studio desk. "Who's Looking Out for You?" is not another diatribe by a hard-nosed Northeasterner, but rather an indictment of the left intended to appeal to the minivan set (swing voters?). While this new book is typical, pander-to-the-right O'Reilly, he is not as inflammatory as someone of Coulter's magnitude. But at the very least, O'Reilly has become a more contemporary Rush Limbaugh, save the obesity and opiate addiction.

Dick Morris might be the least recognizable of the three names I mentioned before, but he is no stranger to politics and the media. Morris' story in relation to his current liberal-bashing is quite interesting. Morris rose to prominence as a senior aide to - yes, you guessed it - Bill Clinton. After following Clinton from Little Rock to Washington, Morris was pivotal to the White House in cleaning up the public relations mess after Hillary Clinton's health plan was torpedoed by Congress and developing the winning strategy for Clinton-Gore in 1996.

Unfortunately for Morris, he left the White House after it was discovered that he had engaged in an extramarital affair with a prostitute. Morris later resurfaced as a major Bush supporter and released a new book this year, kindly named "Off with Their Heads." As I suggested at the beginning, Morris indeed makes the threat promised by his title in his book. Morris directs his bloodlust at the editors of the New York Times, his former employer and the leaders of the Fifth French Republic. If this book does anything - besides making hopefully idle threats - it exposes Morris as the quintessential Washington parasite. And to top it off, he currently works for Fox News.

The onslaught of conservative books began early last year and is still continuing, but the liberals are finally catching up. In February, Eric Alterman, a columnist for "The Nation," responded to authors claiming a leftist bias in the media with "What Liberal Media?" Alterman's book is well-researched, and instead of being full of antagonistic snipes at the media offers a clear analysis and definition of what exactly constitutes liberal and conservative media. The rough conclusion that Alterman reaches is that "liberal" media - like the New York Times or CNN - offer opinions from a broader political spectrum, whereas "conservative" media such as the Weekly Standard and Fox News are unabashedly right-wing.

This is not to say that the left is without its lunatic fringe. Last year's bestselling nonfiction work was not written by anyone named Coulter or O'Reilly, but by the boisterous filmmaker Michael Moore. Published a few months before the release of the Academy Award-winning "Bowling for Columbine," Moore's book, "Stupid White Men and Other Sorry Excuses for the State of the Nation" was a great success, but while it was filled with genuinely angry sentiments with the Bush administration, it also contained too many comical suggestions about how to properly address issues and effect change in America. Also, while Moore's objectives are good, his noble intentions are surpassed only by his massive ego. This was apparent during his scene with Charlton Heston in "Bowling for Columbine."

Moore's ego is even more present in his new book, "Dude, Where's My Country?" Like O'Reilly's book, I have not had a chance to read this latest work in its entirety. However, the excerpts I have seen indicate that while Moore is even angrier at the Bush administration this year, many of his ideas are more grounded than in "Stupid White Men." Still, Moore takes the time to congratulate himself on his victory speech at this year's Academy Awards and still reverts to farcical responses to conservatives. But as irritating as some find Moore, "Dude, Where's My Country?" currently sits atop the New York Times bestseller list.
But perhaps the most talked-about book of this sort is Al Franken's "Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right." As you probably remember, Fox News tried to halt production of this book for Franken's use of that special phrase "Fair and Balanced." Obviously, Rupert Murdoch does not own three individual words. When Fox News' suit went to court, even the presiding judge said, "This is an easy case."

"Lies" hit the stands in early September and rocketed directly to the top of the bestseller lists. On top of being controversial, it is an excellent book, perhaps Franken's best work ever. Not only is the book filled with Franken's remarkable ability as a satirist, it also contains the thorough research of 14 students from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard where Franken recently served as a fellow. People like Coulter, O'Reilly, Morris and other Fox News luminaries are taken to task first. One of the running jokes is O'Reilly's brief career as a novelist, and this is exceptionally humorous when applied to Katharine Harris.

Franken then turns his sights on the Bush Administration. Franken recalls his brief encounters with members of both Bush's cabinet and family (Barbara is not exceptionally cordial) and adds a perfect amount of wickedly funny commentary. A chapter imagining the Bush Administration in Vietnam, and a moving tribute to the late Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone add to what might be both the funniest and most effective piece of political criticism in recent times by any author.

There is a great deal of criticism flying around from all sides of our political spectrum, yet much of it emanates from provocateurs like Coulter, the iron lady of the neocon movement, and Moore, our self-appointed national advocate. Fortunately, more focused authors like Alterman and Franken provide a more civil discussion in their books. However divided these authors and this country may be, the political criticism genre has never enjoyed greater success.