Shows Commie Girl's mordant gaiety in the teeth of the febrile vacancy that threatens to engulf her at various turns - whether stricken with terror at the prospect of a chance encounter with Dick Cheney or puzzling in vain over the philosophical conundrum of taking Arnold Schwarzenegger seriously.

If you thought there was no liberal life left in Orange County, think again. From her operational-base-cum-family-home deep behind enemy lines, Rebecca Schoenkopf risks all to report back on the Versace-decked, Chardonnay-swilling, Humvee-crashing denizens of the twenty-first century's most evil paradise. Whether stricken with terror at the prospect of a chance encounter with Dick Cheney or puzzling in vain over the philosophical conundrum of taking Arnold Schwarzenegger seriously, Commie Girl's mordant gaiety in the teeth of the febrile vacancy that threatens to engulf her at every turn will draw gasps of astonishment and admiration from all those who think it really can't be that bad.