I had remarked earlier that Camille's column this month was so good, so right on, so full of excellent political analysis that the resident Camille bashers at Salon would have a difficult time criticizing her.

Silly me. My apologies, Camille bashers. I underestimated you.

Just a sampling from the "Why is CP still here?" folks:

Camille is a complete wacko. She can't even write well anymore. And she HATES other women. Why is this "woman" writing here?

-- MusicRowDem

Salon, please, please, please get rid of Camille Paglia. Having different points of view is fine, but her writing comes across as screeching, nasty, and meandering. --JSinNJ

Worst. Writer. Ever. This. Means: NOT. GOOD. WRITER. POOR WORDS. DUMB THOUGHTS.

I would so love it if some smart young hacker could trace the source of all the letter writers who think CP is a "good writer" to one source: CP herself (or her girlfriend), using various aliases.

Anyone who could start off an "essay" with this lurching disaster is not calibrating her meds right or just flatfooted as hell: "Shuddering, lurching and stumbling, the 2008 general election has finally, mercifully begun."

Seriously, the woman is tone-deaf--she couldn't express her way out of an old paper sack.

As for having any ideas to express...

-- Bridget Moore

Sheesh, Camille, you are a dumbass. --Hoosier Daddy

Reading Paglia's articles makes me want to be buried alive. --John762

Who CP reminds me of...

As I was reading CP's column, it hit me: Myrna Minx, from "The Confederacy of Dunces." That's who CP is!

-- Pete Harvard

Paglia's Neverending Quest to Prove She's An Idiot

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Paglia's political perspective is about as worthless as that of a drunken sailor at happy hour.

-- omooex

You're a mess. And it's because of Obama nuts like you that I won't be voting for him. I don't care who he selects. He loses in November and when he does, it will be because of hateful, spiteful people like you.

Women like you make me sick. You are everything that none of us ever wanted to be like when we were growing up: jealous, ate up with hate, and too easily full of shit. Get a real job.

-- Rambling Rose 22

Umm, Camille, please shut up already...

If this piece were a post by an unknown reader, it would be classified as a rant and many outlets wouldn't bother to publish it. Why do we need to continue to hear Camille sing (nee, screach) this same one note about her hatred for Hillary over and over again? I heard her on NPR recently and I was truly afraid I was going to witness her having a stroke over the airwaves (which, had it left her unable to type or speak, perhaps would not have been the worst thing...)

Camille is pathological. Please Salon, shut her up.

-- manyctnj

I started listening to Rush Limbaugh in 1988, shortly after his radio show became nationally syndicated.

In those days, Rush provided a refreshing alternative to the standard news media outlets. His program provided political news and commentary from a conservative point of view that you just couldn't find anywhere else. He was also funny and brash and his program had a certain counter-culture vibrancy and satirical bounce.

Rush seemed to maintain this vibrancy through the Republican revolution on 1994, when GOP candidates swept incumbent Democrats from office and took over both Houses of Congress.

And then, gradually, between '94 and 2000, Rush's act became stale and repetitive and, what's worse, it became boring. By 2000 Limbaugh was little more than a Republican shill. If you listened to Rush, everything the Democrats did was stupid, and bad for the country. Without exception. And everything the Republicans did or proposed was just what the country needed.

If you listen to the Limbaugh radio show today (or any right-wing talk show...they're all patterned on the Limbaugh formula), it's a parody of reflexive, knee-jerk partisan politics. Limbaugh today is a big fat blowhard, a parody of a rich Republican who thinks all poor people are poor because of defects in their character. And what's more, he's a bore.

Oh God, is he boring. Rush Limbaugh is a barometer for Republican political fortunes. You can trace the rise and fall of the GOP in his radio program. These days, he's terribly irrelevant and uninteresting. Just like the Republican party.

A Laker hater, I'm so looking forward to the game when the Celts close it out.

I hope they do close-ups of Kobe Bryant berating and browbeating his teammates.

And I hope they do close-ups of Jack Nicholson and the other Hollywood celebs when it becomes clear that the Lakers are going down. If Jack puts on a smile and a brave face, that should be worthy of an Oscar nomination.

[heh, heh]

I wish some of you letter writers would not indulge in amateur psychoanalysis and stop using buzzwords like "co-dependency."

This is a story of two women who each needed a friend and found each other.

Okay, so Gisele isn't perfect. But she's still a good friend.

And after all, who is perfect? If we eliminated everybody from our circle of friends because they had problems or defects, we'd have precious few friends.

And what is friendship, after all? Maybe it's just two people whose personalities (or neuroses) mesh.

What's wrong with that?

Re:

Thanks for the update, I guess . . .

You were sad? You dated someone, and then found out they weren't right for you? Is that it? Did I miss something?

Yeah, you missed it.

Did you also read Macbeth and say, "Guy kills king, later gets offed himself. End of story." ???