Personally, I'd rather that Dowd just stopped writing completely.

She hasn't much to say.

Dowd, like many journalists, writes almost exclusively in the "game frame" identified by communications scholars and political scientists. The emphasis is rarely on policy but on politics--who's up, who's down; who's winning, who's losing. Politics isn't a game for me, and it certainly isn't a game for those who are most directly affected by policy (those with the least power in society). Dowd can be incisive but more often than not she reduces politics to a soap opera. In these troubling times we need serious criticism of our leadership, not smug little anecdotes about the lives of politicians. Frankly, anyone who is not prfoundly pissed off about the direction this country has taken in the last five years clearly doesn't care and shouldn't be in a position to comment about our current political environment.

You might want to write a piece about the blatant racism of the Republican Party, in light of the repugnant "playboy" ad.

What racism?

Yeah, yeah, I know everybody is calling it racist but why? Is not the racism from those who perceive some kind of threat from the imagined racial difference between Ford and the beast? Please note I do not deny the intent of the creators of the ad to play on racism.

For certain it is an understatement to call the ad tacky. Ford has reason to beef about being paired with an unattractive beast seems to me but the racism is solely in eye of the viewer.

About the only thing tackier than that ad is the uncomprehending discussion of it.

In my opinion.

Best, Terry

I disagree. I laughed my ass off at Dowd's "I never had drinks with that woman" comment. Only Hillary could have done it better.

In the closing days of an election those that will make their minds up on issues already have and those who have not yet made their mind up on issues are not ever going to make their mind up on issues. The undecideds and unconvinced at this point will vote character only. That's something Gore and Kerry completely missed - when to change tactics.

This election people are not just questioning the character of their respective Representative, they are questioning the character and integrity of the entire Republican party. And McCain is one of the few Republicans who still carry the illusion of having some integrity in that party. For Maureen to expose him as Pat Robertson's little whore is not a bad thing at this stage of an election. And to do it with sarcastic humor is the best vehicle, it sticks in the mind. A simple comment at the water cooler, "Oh he lies like a Republican" as though that is the gold standard that we all accept for describing a lying sack of _____, can have a profound effect on an undecided that is really going to only vote the way she thinks the wind is blowing anyhow.

Give Maureen a break, she's going after millions of voters that Reed Hundt can't even admit exists because he's never met one yet. But they are out here Reed, by the millions!!!!

Maureen Dowd is vacuous and catty and often inaccurate.

She's an embarrasment to public discourse, no better than Rush et al.

She's another unfortunate result of our tendancy to mix entertainment and policy, a tendancy which favors the right, since they have fewer scruples about creating their own facts.

The only appropriate time to discuss Dowd is when she makes a factual mistake.

Wow. I can't believe how many people can't stand Maureen Dowd. I think she has a pretty good take on most issues. The column this week about Bush-speak, is relevant and interesting. How politicians attempt to manipulate public perception with double-speak is a big deal.

If the average American spent a little bit more time thinking critically and trying to understand not just what the White House is saying, but why they are saying it - that would be nice. Unfortunately, very few people are paying that much attention. Dowd highlighting White House spin is a good thing.

And one other thing, she can be really funny sometimes too.

What racism?

 Hmmm, does this mean that you are unaware of the lynching history of America with regard to black men simply looking at a white woman, let alone dating one?

Yeah, yeah, I know everybody is calling it racist but why? Is not the racism from those who perceive some kind of threat from the imagined racial difference between Ford and the beast? Please note I do not deny the intent of the creators of the ad to play on racism.

How can the brutal and barbaric history of the south with regard to protecting the 'white southern flower of womanhood" be a 'perception' of threat vs. a historical fact?  How is the 'southern strategy' employed by the GOP of race baiting be a 'imagined racia difference'.  Is the public 'imagining' that Ford is a black man and his opponent is white? How can you not deny the "intent" if as you claim these are merely ' perceptions of threat and imagined'  racial differences, what then is your claim of intent based on?

For certain it is an understatement to call the ad tacky. Ford has reason to beef about being paired with an unattractive beast seems to me but the racism is solely in eye of the viewer

Only if the 'eye of the viewer' is blind to the history of race in America and the southern strategy.

Or are you simply being coy? 

The very fact that Dowd avoids policy prescription most of the time and simply entertains makes an overtly political statement more effective when it happens.

The criticisms of her as lightweight might apply to Mark Twain, who spent plenty of time poking fun at small things. How about Will Rogers?