Interesting: These are the top-ten best-selling political books at BarnesandNoble.com:

• The Savage Nation
• Let Freedom Ring: Winning the War of Liberty over Liberalism
• Slander: Liberal Lies about the American Right
• War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning
• The Prince
• The Prince (a different edition)
• Letters to a Young Conservative
• Blinded by the Right: The Conscience of an Ex-Conservative
• What Color is a Conservative
• Why We Fight: Moral Clarity and the War on Terrorism

What a fascinating list. I'm especially intrigued by the double-occurence of Machiavelli's The Prince. I'm also little disturbed that this one classic title appears among current literature. Are Americans uniquely attracted to cynical governing philosophies right now, or is this just an anomoly at Brnes and Noble, perhaps due to a quirk of classification? Evan more disturbing, this was a reader review for Sean Hannity's Let Freedom Ring:

Sean Hannity sounds the call to return to the values that made America great in his first book "Let Freedom Ring". Hannity gives his perscriptions for combating liberalism at home and terrorism abroad, giving more freedom to individuals by curtailing the growth of government, returning taxes to the overtaxed (everybody), and instituting free market policies in our social programs. A great present for anyone interested in politics.

Fighting liberalism goes next to fighting terrorism? [mind boggles and head explodes again]. It is interesting to see so many comments in conservative literature about the sinister force of liberalism, as though it is some subversive force deliberately threatening to destroy the country. This is particularly disturbing given that the country seems almost completely split between conservatives and "liberals," (by liberals I mean people who can be called "liberal" in one way or another). A recent LA Times poll indicates that the support for Bush among voters is still hovering around 50%:

Just 45% of registered voters said they are now likely to support Bush for reelection, while 40% said they were inclined to back the Democratic nominee, the survey found. Fifteen percent said they don't now lean in either direction.

It is a little scary to see an increasing frequency of statements which label "liberals" -- apparently a good 40% of the population -- as no better than terrorists. The liberals are also said to "hate America." But I don't recall seeing statements by liberals that "conservatives are no better than bin Laden or Hitler" (with the notable exception of my opinion toward Ann Coulter). That sort of statement seems to me like a pretty hateful thing to say, and too often directed at the half of the population which is called "liberal."