Keith Olbermann's regular media critic guest, Michael Musto of the Village Voice, called Ann Coulter a 'bastard' on last night's Countdown.

The topic was the news that Vanity Fair has picked celeb photographer Annie Liebovitz to snap the first pics of Suri, newborn daughter of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes. There is controversy as to whether Suri actually exists, given that, months after her announced birth, there have been no photos or sightings of the child.

Musto is clearly a skeptic on the subject. When Olbermann asked him what we should expect from Liebovitz's images of Suri, Musto responded with this strained effort to draw a connection to the left's bête noire :

"We should expect an image of a pillow. An illegitimate pillow, mind you. A bastard pillow. What's the word for a female bastard? Ann Coulter! An Ann Coulter pillow!"

Olbermann could be heard giggling in the background.

My, my! The verbal nastiness aside, what a stunning lapse in PC-speak by a Village Voice writer. 'Bastard'? Surely Musto knows we don't have bastards anymore. Just children born to single mothers. But the left-wing media will apparently sacrifice even political correctness for the greater cause of 'lam-bastardizing' a favorite target.

Update - Musto replies. With an innocuous covering message, I sent Michael Musto a link to this item. His reply:

"You’re so right. I should have gone for a much more pc expression—like “Ann Coulter is a total c---.”

Unedited word in the original.