Taking advantage of a bad situation...

I haven't hidden my Republican leanings from public view on this blog (although they seem to be shifting further and further left each day). But there are certainly days when I cringe hearing the latest rants from conservative pundits like Shawn Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, and Ann Coulter that amount to nothing more than mean-spirited, personal attacks having absolutely no basis in substantive facts. So I found it quite amusing to read in The Washington Post that John Edwards, a frequent victim of Ann Coulter's verbal vomit and lack of restraint, has used these insults to his advantage:

Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards said Wednesday that conservative author Ann Coulter's attacks are personally hurtful and it's important that he respond to them.

While Edwards made his first comments to The Associated Press in response to Coulter's suggestion that she wished he would be "killed in a terrorist assassination plot," his campaign was also using her remarks to bring in donations in the final week before his next fundraising deadline.

It's not the first time Coulter has given the Edwards campaign a financial boost. In March, she called Edwards a "faggot" and the campaign used video of the comment to help raise $300,000 before the end of the first quarter.

If I were Barak Obama or one of the weaker contenders like Mike Kucinich, I'd try and bait Coulter in a fight, too. I'm sure a little tiff in the press would be worth a couple hundred grand, at least.