Neal Pollack: I've always been a smart-ass. I wasn't the dorkiest guy in school, but I was the one who got picked on the most, because I couldn't keep my mouth shut. I was always slagging someone, or something. I was writing these pieces for McSweeneys, in the first person, but not in the Neal Pollack "character." When it came time to turn the pieces into a book, the Greatest Living American Writer character was a natural extension. This persona developed gradually, and now it consumes my every waking minute. But the character is very flexible. Sometimes I make fun of slam poets; sometimes I make fun of journalists, sometimes of novelists. My novel, which will be published next year, makes fun of rock critics. And my blog, well, it's not hard to see who I'm making fun of there. I'm done. It's safe to come out now.

Dawn: So you think bloggers are fodder for your sarcasm and cruelty?

Neal Pollack: Political bloggers are, especially.

Dawn: Why so? And who is the funniest - in a pathetic way?

Neal Pollack: Well, there's been this arrogant explosion of political opinion on the Internet. It's like a prison full of lunatics shouting to see the warden. And the self-involvement of these people, even the ones who I agree with politically, is extraordinary. All writers are egomaniacs, but online there's no filter. As for your second question, there's no doubt that the exemplar of political bloggers is Andrew Sullivan. He's the best writer, he's the most confrontational, and he's flat-out crazy.

Dawn: NUTS in fact. His writing is amazing and he is the first blogger I read - but not a nice guy on a personal level. Arrogant - kind of like you but without that straight thing going on.

Neal Pollack: I try to be sexually ambiguous in the column. Well, obviously I'm hetero, but I try to be at least bi-curious. You can't parody Sullivan without having some gay stuff in there. He's not my only target, but his site gives me fresh grist every day...

Dawn: I avoid him like the plague anymore - simply because we have nothing whatsoever in common. So do you think bloggers and/or blogs in general have any real significance or positive contributions to add to the world of journalism or the media?

Neal Pollack: I like the democratizing effect of blogs. The field was pretty closed before. And I think the writing in the best blogs is better than your hometown daily editorial page. But their "contribution" has yet to be determined. It's like the zine explosion a decade ago. A lot of the best zinesters have just faded away or just stayed put, because the mainstream is not ready to absorb zine-type writers. The blog boom will probably fade in the same way. But it's fun right now.