I suppose Ann Coulter has succeeded, at least as measured by the
vehement response on this list, in her provocation.  Perhaps the Mark
Twain Forum should demand that she withdraw her comparison to Mark
Twain.  "We know Mark Twain, and you are no Mark Twain."  Truly, as
people have pointed out, she lacks the compassion that earmarked all
of Twain's wit, even when most sardonic.  And her offense -- vulgar
castigation of 9/11 widows because they had the temerity to call for
an investigation which the Bush team would have been happier to avoid
-- is far worse than any of Twain's gaffs, including the Whittier
Birthday Speech (which, today, seems not at all offensive).  Of
course, attacking widows and other crude tactics help promote her in
the media and propels her book on the best-seller list.  Such
creepiness, however, needs to be so repudiated that no one even wants
to buy her books.  This time even conservatives should be saying,
"Enough is enough."  In any case, is anybody up to telling the media
that, in fact, she is no Mark Twain?

Hilton Obenzinger
Stanford University