On the July 27 edition of MSNBC's Hardball, host Chris Matthews asked right-wing pundit Ann Coulter, “How do you know that [former President] Bill Clinton is gay?” -- referring to her comment the night before on CNBC's The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch that Clinton “show[s] some level of latent homosexuality.” Coulter responded, “I don't know if he's gay. But [former Vice President] Al Gore -- total fag.” She went on to defend her theory about Clinton's sexuality by stating that “everyone has always known, widely promiscuous heterosexual men have, as I say, a whiff of the bathhouse about them.” Coulter claimed she was “just kidding” about Gore, but said of her theory about Clinton, “It's not only not a joke, it's not even surprising.”

Further, Coulter remarked that when “most Americans” heard that an Israeli airstrike had hit a United Nations observer post in south Lebanon on July 25, killing four U.N. observers, they hoped to hear similar news about “the installation on 42nd Street” -- presumably a reference to the U.N. headquarters in New York City.

Earlier in the interview, Coulter had said she would “not be averse to taking military action against Iran,” adding that “we can take care of Iran so that they couldn't build a transistor radio.” Matthews went on to ask her," So you would bomb them into the Stone Age?" Coulter responded, “It's either that or have a lunatic sitting on top of nukes. If that's what my choice is -- yes.”

At the beginning of the interview, Matthews had remarked that Coulter reminded him of “the young George Will.” In concluding the interview, he said of Coulter, “We'd love to have her back.”

From the July 27 edition of MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews:

MATTHEWS: You are a controversial lady. You write beautifully. You have a brilliant brain. I stayed up last night reading your chapter on Willie Horton which was absolutely stunning in its satire, it reminded me of the young [conservative columnist] George Will.

COULTER: Thank you.

[...]

MATTHEWS: OK, Iran. How about Iran? It's a closer danger --

COULTER: It's a much bigger problem when they have nukes.

MATTHEWS: It's a closer danger in the Middle East because you've got Israel, you got Saudi Arabia. Very fat targets.

COULTER: That's when you have someone crazy --

MATTHEWS: What do you do there? What do you do in Iran?

COULTER: -- who's claiming he's building nukes. You want to go in and take them out.

MATTHEWS: What do you do in Iran, if you're president?

COULTER: I don't know what they know, but I would not be averse to military action, and I know people keep saying --

MATTHEWS: You mean a strike against their nuclear facilities?

COULTER: People keep saying, you know, the material itself -- it can be hidden in caves -- we can't find it. Oh, we can take care of Iran so that they couldn't build a transistor radio. Who cares if they have nuclear material.

MATTHEWS: So you'd bomb them into the Stone Age?

COULTER: Maybe.

MATTHEWS: You would? Really, as president?

COULTER: It's either that or have a lunatic sitting on top of nukes. If that's what my choice is, yes.

MATTHEWS: Take 'em down.

[...]

MATTHEWS: I'm back in heaven. I think I'm on college tour again. This is the University of Hardball, here we are. We have Ann Coulter. Look at her, look at her, the picture of heaven. All brain, no heart. Just kidding! OK, let's go now to the first question.

AUDIENCE MEMBER: Hi. If we're fighting Islamofascism in the war on terror, I'm wondering if we can use American Muslims to fight the war on culture in the United States.

[...]

MATTHEWS: Let me ask you about your private life. How do you know that Bill Clinton's gay?

COULTER: He may not be gay, but Al Gore, total fag. No, I'm just kidding. As someone, no --

MATTHEWS: That's based on your private life?

COULTER: No, that's a joke.

MATTHEWS: OK.

COULTER: That's what we call in the writing business, a joke. No, I mean, I state a manifestly obvious fact. Someone pointed out on Free Republic, I think a little disgruntled yesterday, Ann's amazing capacity is to state the obvious and make it news. I mean, everyone has always known, widely promiscuous heterosexual men have, as I say, a whiff of the bathhouse about them.

MATTHEWS: But, you know, you were on -- I was watching you on Deutsch [CNBC's The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch] last night. I watched it because it was all over the blog sites, you can't miss it.

COULTER: Yes!

MATTHEWS: You were immortal in that interview by the way. And you said it because you were sort of pushed to say it. I just wonder if you believe it.

COULTER This is standard --

MATTHEWS: It's a joke. It's a joke.

COULTER I -- I --

MATTHEWS: It's not a joke.

COULTER It's not only not a joke, it's not even surprising. If feminists were not so in love with Bill Clinton, this is like standard --

MATTHEWS: OK.

COULTER For any feminist with the benefit of something beyond a community-college education, this is standard --

MATTHEWS: OK.

COULTER -- feminist doctrine that wild promiscuity shows a fear-hostility of women.

MATTHEWS: Well, thanks, Ann. You're great.

COULTER Thank you.

[...]

AUDIENCE MEMBER: Ann, I want to get your thoughts on [U.N. Secretary General] Kofi Annan this week basically coming out and demanding that Israel abide by a cease-fire funded by the U.N. But meanwhile, Kofi Annan, after three years of Muslims beating down -- black Muslims in the Darfur area, all Kofi Annan has done is stood there and claimed that there'll be meeting after meeting -- they take out the word “ethnic cleansing,” and then we're being lectured to from liberals about hatred, when I remember in 1994, when we had a liberal Congress and a liberal president, they did nothing in Rwanda.

COULTER: Right. Well, Kofi Annan and the U.N. peacekeepers have done a terrific job keeping the peace. And as you know, Israel mistakenly bombed some of them a few days ago. I think most Americans are looking at that, hoping they can hear about the installation on 42nd Street.

MATTHEWS: Thank you, Ann.

COULTER: Thank you.

MATTHEWS: Thanks for coming on. And a smart lady. Her book's called Godless. Sometimes being smart isn't enough for a civil discourse. We'd love to have her back.