COULTER: YESTERDAY'S SOCIOPATH?

Interesting take on Coulterpalooza from Michael Cader at the book publishing newsletter Publishers Lunch (current content subscription only):

Conventional press wisdom holds that Ann Coulter and Crown are masterful at marketing even if vile in the one-liners they use to get there. But Bookscan figures show opening week sales of over 48,000 copies for GODLESS--actually down significantly from her best opening week, at the same time of year, for TREASON in 2003, which sold 69,000 copies.

Maybe it's just wishful thinking, but this strikes me as a failure in many ways. The recurring tactic of outrageous quip-tossing and fight-picking with icons is losing its appeal to her core audience, or else that core is shrinking--at a time when Republicans and conservatives are supposed to represent the majority. Sure her numbers are still good, but they are a fraction of what Limbaugh, O'Reilly or even Fox News can attract. Along the way, she's marginalized herself from a provocative analyst to just plain provocative at any cost. No one needs to pay for that.

So her first-week sales are down 30 percent? Hmmm ... I did not know that.

Clearly, some conservatives are distancing themselves from Coulter. Now, if only the mainstream media would do the same.