By Martin Hintz

When New York Times columnist Maureen Brigid Dowd laughs, which she does often and effortlessly, there’s a bit of Irish counties Mayo and Clare in her lilt. That’s as it should be, for those are her ancestral grounds. "It took me a long time for me to spell my middle name," she said about being a Brigid without the "t." 

But when she discourses on the eccentricities of politicians and their oft bizarre ways, she’s always hardcore business, albeit its verbiage tinged with well-honed humor. Dowd linked up with The Times as metropolitan reporter in 1983 and became a columnist in 1995, writing with thesaurus splashes of color. It always helps to have red hair.

Ever on the go, the flame-haired Dowd lives in Georgetown, Va., and commutes between Times offices in D.C. and New York. Several times a week, Dowd — as the only female columnist regularly showcased in The Times — squares off against what she sees as incompetencies bedeviling the nation. 

During a recent pause between composing her 700-word essays, taking time to peruse The Financial Times and preparing for a promo tour to Australia, she animatedly chatted on the phone from a New York hotel about her latest book, Are Men Necessary? When Sexes Collide (Putnam, 2005, $25.95).

The narrative covers a wide range of topics, elaborating on her strong views about politics, men, romance, men, women’s current addiction to appearances, men, the death of feminism. And...did I mentioned?...men.

Actually, despite the title, Dowd doesn’t mind the Y-chromosomed, the male of the humanoid species, for they are important for the heavy lifting. Although she states outright that, well, as a species, "men are ever so last century." Yet she did happily dedicate this latest work "for men. Friends and more, past, present and future. You know who you are."

But what about equality? The journalist/author emphasizes that the sexual revolution had the unexpected consequence of "intensifying the confusion between the sexes, leaving women in a tangle of dependence and independence as they entered the twenty-first century." Heavy stuff indeed for a mere eight pages into the introduction.

Seeking Insights

Readers seeking insights as to dealing with all this confusion can either laugh, or cry, depending on how they view Dowd’s take on the world. She’s alternately flip, coy and right on. Actually, she does like guys. Really.

Among the lightning rods from her book and conversational observations, some nuggets of which have initially appeared in Times’ essays:

* On brains and sexuality: "One thing men fear is a woman using her critical faculties."

* On politics and sex: "If you want to know about the capitol, look at its most prominent symbol, the Washington Monument." 

* On being feminine: "Women have become so obsessed with not withering, they’ve forgotten that there are infinite ways to be beautiful." 

* On dating (she’s never been married): A one-time-flame, actor Michael Douglas, "reminds me of some Irish pirate." 

* On sports: Dowd gave up golf after playing with ex-boyfriend John Tierney (a conservative Times columnist) because "he was so impatient." She still plays tennis and some squash.

* On Hillary Clinton: Read the book, especially the chapter, "How Hillary Smushed Cupcakes and Filleted Feminism." 

Dowd has attracted a loyal following, one counterbalanced by detractors fuming about everything from her writing style to her clothing choices. Not the least of them being those she calls the Mean Guys of the Republican Party, who take a hit by skewering them for raging hormones that get them into constant trouble. Dowd’s rambunctious jousting with the current administration is guaranteed to bring cheers from fans and hisses from the opposition. This book will keep the divide just as wide as it has ever been. But that’s okay. 

Keeping Balance

Yet Dowd keeps her own balance in life with a good nutritionist and quality Irish bartenders such as pouring pals Ed Byrne and Michael Kelly. There’s also the occasional Black Velvet, a volatile mixture of Guinness stout and champagne. Obviously, SOME things in life certainly are necessary. 

A favorite watering hole was McHale’s on 46th Street in New York, near the Times’ office. "It was authentic Irish, with the best cheeseburgers," Dowd said, lamenting that the building was purchased and the new owners shuttered the pub. A Woody Allen movie is good therapy, as well, which has to do in a pinch when your favorite snug has been closed.

She also loves digging into an Evelyn Waugh novel or Yeats, Wilde and O'Faolain. Reading was part of her family life, although Dowd’s father was primarily a newspaper-kind-of-guy. Her mom loved Irish author Maeve Binchy.

"I have a fantastic Irish heritage," she proudly reported, indicating that the women in her family celebrated their womaness and sexuality. "Sure, they were early feminists," Dowd asserted. Her dad, Mike, was a cop in Washington, D.C., and her mom, Margaret (Peggy), ruled a free-thinking household that included Dowd’s five older brothers. 

"The only argument I remember my parents having was on their first trip to Ireland when dad booked them into the Oliver Cromwell Hotel. Mom sobbed until he found another place," she recalled in reference to the English invader known more for lopping heads than for good manners, charity toward all or his love for the Irish. 

Dowd’s dad was once president of the national Ancient Order of Hibernians and her mom was national historian for many years. The elder Dowd died at a Georgetown lecture given by Irish nationalist heroine Bernadette Devlin, a fact he probably appreciates now in Gaelic Heaven if not all keen about it at the time.

Dowd has been to Ireland several times, both with her family as a youngster and for reporting. She covered Bill Clinton when he visited Belfast in 1998. "I never saw him look as free as he did then," she recalled. "He was getting all the love that he needed. That crowd, that moment filled him with happiness. He deserved it," Dowd added.

She looked at the approval the troubled president received when he spoke at Waterfront Hall and visited the Falls Road. "He knew so much about the peace process and was so involved with that whole thing," Dowd related. After his retirement in 1995, Sen. George Mitchell was appointed by President Clinton to serve as special advisor to Northern Ireland and helped broker the Good Friday peace accords. Clinton was keenly aware of what Mitchell was up to and what he faced, supporting the negotiations at every turn.

Eyebrows Raised

When Dowd was in the North, she wore a green coat and black beret. The outfit caused some eyebrows to lift, puzzling Dowd. Then Conor Cleary, the noted Irish journalist and essayist, pointed out to her that such a coat and hat were regularly worn by the women’s auxiliary of the IRA. "That why everyone was always looking at me," she guessed, laughing again. 

An interview with Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams was another fascinating highpoint of her job. Dowd met up with the charismatic politician in "what looked like a Knights of Columbus Hall. I figured he’d be surrounded by women in ‘Matrix’ costumes. But he was playing cards with an 80-year-old woman and wearing an Armani suit. Niall O’Dowd of The Irish Voice newspaper used to call that ‘radical chic.’"

The Egyptian Queen Cleopatra reminds Dowd of Maeve, the Irish queen bee who gad-abouted in her chariot while chucking well-aimed spears at her foes. Those were two fearless personalities who demonstrated that women can wield power and use their sexuality, Dowd said. Some contemporary politicians, Dowd claimed, tend to put such strong women in a box, calling them angry bitches, and wanting them to be timid girls who can be manipulated. 

"These women (Cleopatra and Maeve) didn’t worry about about that sort of thing," the columnist continued, going on to praise the new female leaders springing up around the world like Chile’s recently-elected president Michelle Bachele.

Dowd herself can be said to exert a similar fiery sexuality, one that has scared the beejeebers out of more than one errant government functionary who lacks self-esteem or sense of his own masculinity. As such, Dowd appreciates the luck of having a feisty Gaelic heritage, with its gifts of a sense of humor, fierce determination and scorn for those who tolerate injustice. 

She considers President George Bush more of a bully and a polarizer instead of being a leader in the vein of former Irish president Mary Robinson, who remains renowned for her diplomatic skill, strong stand on social services and humanitarian inclinations. "Bush is trying to turn the presidency into a royal court. He wants to run all the branches of government, which is dangerous," she said. 

Dowd is free to select her own writing topics to tackle, often using a "kitchen cabinet" of friends and fellow workers with whom she can bounce ideas. But the ultimate piece remains her responsibility, facing a work ethic that means pushing a deadline. Dowd laughed that in the old days, she would often be finishing a piece "when I heard the (newspaper) delivery trucks rolling up to the docks for loading."

Pressure on Job

There is an inordinate amount of psychological pressure in her job, especially with the advent of the blogging era when everyone, it seems, is writing an opinion piece and putting it out immediately on the Web. This puts Dowd constantly on her toes because she wants to be original. The administration also has given her a chilly reception, taking away her White House press pass and "I have clicks on my phone," she laughed, referring to the National Security Agency phone tapping scandal. Yet she admitted that it was hard to write about Bush when a vindictive, paranoid White House has cut her off. in such a way.

But Americans have to stand up to the president, Dowd asserted. "He is draining us of our precious bodily fluids," she continued in a steely voice. 

"I used to agonize over my columns. I’d sit for eight hours mulling ideas," Dowd explained. Not that it's any easier now, but the words flow a bit better than when she was initially asked to do her column, it took about a year to develop the confidence to follow up on the offer. 

But once she made the commitment, it’s been her life. "I’m not sure that I would go back to being a reporter at The Times. Becoming a columnist is like crossing the Rubicon River. Once on the editorial side, it’s hard going back," she said, peering into a pretend crystal ball. Dowd answers directly to The Times publisher. 

Her favorite column appeared during the Clinton impeachment process when the piece went waxed on about the president’s peccadilloes. The concluding punch was that the man subject was special prosecutor Ken Lay who seemed most obsessed with the sexualness of the case.

Dowd is certain of one thing, however. She would never, never host a broadcast talk show. Recently, Dowd appeared on the Comedy Channel’s faux-news show "The Cobert Report" and admitted to being "a nervous wreck." "I don’t like talking about myself," she said. "Afterwards, I was so relieved."

She’s also appeared on the Oprah Winfrey program, indicating that the television host was "one of the most interesting characters I’ve ever met." Dowd said that Winfrey was a female authority figure, yet one that does not have a reputation of abusing her power unlike what some claim about Hillary Clinton or Martha Stewart.

"I don’t want to be around for the next Bush," Dowd said of the current presidential dynasty. For her, such a situation would be like being trapped in Groundhog Day," she chuckled, referring to the movie in which the main character had to constantly relive the same day in his life. In all fairness, Dowd also wasn’t sure that she’d enjoy a Hillary Clinton presidency sandwiched between those of the senator’s husband and the Bush father-son tag team.

In the meantime, it’s continual jousting with her pen. Queen Maeve would be proud of Dowd’s aim.