If a reader writes me, I reply fast. It is such a relief to get something somebody wrote personally to me instead of that endless stream of forwards of articles somebody else wrote that I am supposed to read.

And it is especially fine to get a comment by someone who has actually read my stuff. I put a lot of work into this, and if I didn’t think it was worth reading, I wouldn’t write it.

Sine I do answer so promptly and I keep up the dialogue, one reader asked if he had offended me somehow. He also wrote about Beasley’s defeat inthe South Carolina Republican primary and Bush’s chances in 2004. This gave me a chance to vent on a couple of things, so I quote my reply below:

“You haven’t offended me.”

“One thing I guarantee you. If you offend me, I’ll let you know. I have had so many people suddenly go into a pout when they felt offended and just go silent. I HATE that!”

“Grown men don’t pout.”

“And you did not offend me by asking that. I know what you mean, as I said, it happened to me many times, so I understand your concern. You have apparently had to deal with it, too. Isn’t it sickening?”

“I was glad to see Beasley lose, though it if he had won it would have given me a chance to talk about those fake Christians some more.”

“I did not think it was possible for even a Bush to be dumb enough to lose to a Massachusetts Democrat, but Republicans are experts at snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. The Clintons tried to hand him victory in 2004 on a silver platter, so it is a race between Clinton’s political genius and Republican stupidity.”

“Republican stupidity is about the only thing that could overcome Clinton’s genius at electoral strategy. This is truly the case of an irresistible force meeting an immovable object.”