Ann Coulter's NBC 'Debate' No Fluke: She Endorsed Leftist Dyson's Book

February 12th, 2007 3:43 PM

Geoff Dickens noticed that last Thursday's Today show carried a remarkably docile debate between conservative commentator Ann Coulter and left-wing author and academic Michael Eric Dyson. Well, the chumminess even extends to Coulter offering a dust-cover blurb for Dyson's new book Debating Race, officially out today (it's not the first blurb on the actual cover, as it is on Dyson's website):

“I will protect both our reputations by saying Michael Eric Dyson and I often disagree—but one thing we do agree on is the importance of ideas. This book is an absolute delight to read. It contains a font of information, delivered with Dyson’s distinctive eloquence. I screamed or laughed on every page at memorable phrases (such as the comparison of Martin Luther King to Puff Daddy). As always, Dyson is fiercely honest, controversial, engaging, funny, and brimming with arguments and ideas.” -- Ann Coulter

Dyson's website (and MSNBC's website) also feature Coulter and Dyson debating the Iraq War on an old episode of the now-defunct show Politically Incorrect.

Newsweek also hyped Dyson's book in last week's edition by letting Dyson name "My Five Most Important Books," announced as the five most important African-American books. Perhaps the most shocking note was Dyson's high praise of the autobiography of the black Muslim leader Malcolm X: "Reading it was like finding religion. You felt Malcolm's absolute love and unapologetic commitment to black people."

Here's a few other quick Dyson links on the MRC site:

-- NBC Nightly News also promoted Dyson as an expert on the racial animus of George W. Bush in his inaction on Hurricane Katrina. Brent Baker reported anchor Brian Williams interviewed Dyson on August 29, 2006 and then made Bush respond to Dyson's charge he was a "clueless patrician" on August 30.

-- Brent Bozell's column in July 2005 on Dyson's book-length attack on Bill Cosby for demanding blacks take responsibility for their own choices. Dyson wrote: "None of us want our children to be murderers or thieves. But Cosby never acknowledges that most poor blacks don't have a choice about these things." Bozell countered: "Don’t have a choice? If this is not the most perfectly pathetic example of excuse-making, I don’t know what is."

-- Brent Baker found in 2003 that Dyson complained to Bill Maher about Bush was waging war on Islam and you could tell since he bowed and prayed to Jesus, and Dennis Miller responded by saying at least he's not the president bowing his head to watch some, well, intern athletics.

-- Newsweek also promoted Dyson in 2000 on his radical take on how radical Martin Luther King was, courtesy of our old MagazineWatch files.

-- Tom Johnson found Dyson's profanity-laced endorsement of the Warren Beatty movie "Bulworth" in 1998.