Howard Dean is right?

It seems strange saying this, but yes Howard Dean, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, is right. No, no, no, he isn't right about any issue or policy. Rather, he is right to condemn Ann Coulter's comments yesterday at the Conservative Political Action Conference. Here is what Ms. Coulter said:

"I was going to have a few comments on the other Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, but it turns out you have to go into rehab if you use the word "faggot," so I — so kind of an impasse, can't really talk about Edwards."

The shame of it is Coulter is a very smart person and should be able to get her points across without making these kinds of statements which she does all too frequently. She should be able to address her differences with Edwards' positions on issues without making slurs or any reference to his personal life. She is someone who should be able to influence people and convince them about the conservative point of view. Instead she has become a useful Democrat tool. Somewhere along the way, she decided that in order to be successful she had to be outrageous. Now, she has said enough goofy stuff that she is invoked as an automatic response anytime someone on the left is criticized for going overboard. Earlier this week when an attempt was made on the vice presidents life, commenters on lefty blogs lamented that the attack failed. When conservatives condemned those comments they got the predictable "yeah, but what about when Coulter . . .?" response. She has reached the point where she should be marginalized by the Republican party and relegated to writing her columns and appearing on TV where she speaks only for herself. She should not be invited to speak at official gatherings where it can be inferred that her comments represent the party position or appear to be endorsed.