Look what popped up on Simon & Schuster's YouTube channel tonight! It's Glenn Beck, imploring the masses, including liberals, to buy his book so he can send his daughter to Obama's alma mater, that noted communist think-tank, Columbia University.

Yes, it's that Glenn Beck, looking and sounding sort of like a normal, non-crazy person, perhaps bolstering our theory that he's nothing more than a crafty modern charlatan in the process, bragging about having a book on the New York Times bestseller list (Isn't it funny when Times-loathing conservatives get positively giddy when their dumb books make its bestseller list?).

Leaning into the camera looking downright thoughtful, pensive even, Beck says that An Inconvenient Book is "deep" and "smart" and that everyone should read it, even if they disagree with everything he says, so that maybe some sort of common ground can be discovered to make America a more tolerant place for all of us to live in. And then, for his closing, Beck plays the "I have a daughter who loves Harry Potter books and wants to go to Columbia" card.

Now, first of all, isn't it heresy or something for the children of conservatives to read stories about witches and warlocks? And secondly, isn't Beck's contrast in style when he's trying to reach out to people on the left, as opposed to his usual wingnut Fox News audience, absolutely striking? It's fascinating really, like watching an elephant mating with a zebra in the wild or something. You just can't look away!

Vid via YouTube