I KNOW THIS WON'T endear me to many of my fellow conservatives, but I like Glenn Greenwald. I've spoken to him a few times on the radio and have enjoyed our jousts. Mind you, I agree with virtually nothing Greenwald says or writes and recognize his unbecoming fondness for the personal insult, but I consider him a worthy adversary.

So I looked forward to reading Greenwald's third and latest book, Great American Hypocrites, especially since I'm one of the title characters. Following two bestsellers, Great American Hypocrites purports to document the rot at the heart of the conservative movement. As its back flap brays, it will dispel myths like "Republicans are brave and courageous" with the truth--that the GOP is "a party filled with chicken hawks and draft dodgers."

Like most things that spring from Glenn Greenwald's keyboard, Great American Hypocrites is a combination of literate insights, occasional distortions, and forays into ugliness that are difficult to understand given Greenwald's obvious intelligence. In other words, the book is filled with the Good, the Bad, and the distinctly Greenwald.

"The Good" comes during Greenwald's discussion of how hypocrisy characterizes the modern GOP. Greenwald posits John Wayne as the archetypal Republican - a guy who acted tough and noble but whose personal life was ignoble and at times pathetic. Greenwald acidly notes, "John Wayne flamboyantly paraded around as the embodiment of courage, masculinity, patriotism, wholesomeness and warrior virtues" when in fact he was a Lothario who went to great lengths to avoid military

You'll want to take special note of Greenwald's none-too-subtle code language that has the Duke "flamboyantly parading." Throughout "Great American Hypocrites," neocons and other Republicans are reliably "prancing" or perambulating in some less than manful way. Greenwald stretches with both holding up John Wayne as a Republican idol and all his talk of prancing. For what it's worth, in my conversations with neocons, I've never heard a single one of them mention John Wayne. I've also noticed that they seldom "prance" let alone "flamboyantly parade." Well, maybe a couple do, but they are the exceptions.

This childish provocation aside, Greenwald's larger point about hypocrisy among conservative ranks is worth considering. I can't claim to be as bothered by hypocrisy as Greenwald is; I certainly wouldn't write a book on the subject. We all fail to live up to our expressed values on occasion, and thus slip into hypocrisy. (In fairness to Greenwald, he makes this precise point in his book.)

But it's worth pondering whether the hypocrisy among Republican politicians has reached a tipping point the past few years. We've seen purported family values champions looking for love in bordellos, airport restrooms, and instant message chats with teens. The concern isn't that these men are merely hypocrites, but that their rhetoric is nothing but a hollow means to gaining office.