This classic muckrake on the foibles of the political left is both loads of fun and deeply disturbing. The fun comes from the shabby behavior and general nuttiness on offer; the disturbance concerns the limited amount of exposure some of this rich material has received in the media.

As Peter Schweizer notes in the introduction to “Do as I Say (Not as I Do)” (Doubleday, 272 pages, $22.95), we are all deeply familiar with Rush Limbaugh’s prescription drug problems, William Bennett’s gambling habit, and Dr. Laura Schlessinger’s nude poses. There has been somewhat less attention paid to Noam Chomsky’s Pentagon contracts, Senator Kennedy’s family oil companies, and Ralph Nader’s stock ownership in defense contractors.

Critics of such liberal worthies are sure to thumb this short volume searching for favorite anecdotes. One of mine concerns Michael Moore’s record on integration and minority hiring. An outspoken critic of American racism, Mr. Moore frequently blasts what he regards as prevalent white prejudices and takes Hollywood to task for failing to hire and promote minorities. But when it comes to his own living and hiring arrangements … things are different. Mr. Moore lives in an exclusive community without a single black resident, and of the 134 writers, producers, and other creatives he has hired, Mr. Schweizer can find only three blacks. This from a man who in his film “Stupid White Men” proclaimed his plan to “hire only black people.”

But there is much, much more where that comes from. Consider Al Franken’s propensity for attacking conservatives for behavior in which he has “excelled”: His high dudgeon over Mr. Limbaugh’s famous and lamentable critique of Chelsea Clinton’s physical charms would be far more persuasive if he had not been part of the “Saturday Night Live” team that produced two devastating skits on Ms. Clinton’s allure challenges.

As with any book of this kind, the quality of the material varies. Some of the Clinton lore is, indeed, familiar, although Senator Clinton’s self-proclaimed Methodist virtue continues to rankle in a more acute way than, say, Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s predictable inanities. It really is painful to revisit the tax write-offs for charity giving of used shower curtains ($30) and Bill’s old running shoes ($40). And who can or ever will forget the Clintons’ registering for house gifts as they left office in 2000, just before the new Senate ethics rules would have outlawed such giving? (They copped $190,000 in assorted doo-dads, according to Mr. Schweizer.) And since Senator Clinton does a fair channeling of Eleanor Roosevelt these days – full of good works and serious policy prescriptions – it is salutary to recall her more colorful, money-grubbing period.

Give Ms. Pelosi credit where credit is due, however. It’s not easy to become a leader of a political party, even today’s Democratic Party, with a record that includes trying to prevent the USS Missouri from docking in San Francisco Harbor because it had nuclear weapons aboard. And it’s also not easy to get high marks for environmental conservation while the family business is constructing a golf course that is doing damage to the local environment. But then, one of the recurring themes in Mr. Schweizer’s book is that it is not really about causes as much as it is about politics. When Mr. Nader castigated several conservative senators for owning shares in oil companies in “Who Owns Congress,” he made no mention of the Kennedy family oil companies. While Mr. Moore attacked a candy company for laying off people while it was profitable, he has never said word one about his own film distributor, Miramax, which did the same.

If it were just politics as usual, it would be bad enough. But Mr. Schweizer makes clear that some serious damage has been done by these self-serving stalwarts. The Michael Moore chapter is especially instructive in this regard. While Mr. Moore is always careful to proclaim his love of the “real America” as opposed to “Bush’s America” when he is on home turf, he employs a different voice when on the road. In Britain, he once proclaimed, “You’re stuck with being connected to this country of mine, which is known for bringing sadness and misery to places around the globe.” In Germany, he asked, “Should such an ignorant people lead the world?” In Canada, he pronounced Americans “nuts.”

What is most characteristic of the people covered in this book is their assertion of moral superiority. (For reasons of space and decorum, not considered here are equally revealing portraits of Barbra Streisand, Gloria Steinem, Cornel West, and George Soros.) All of them, without exception, think they are better than the people who disagree with them – because they are, you know, better.

For some of us with long memories, the florid and sadly dissipated face of Senator Kennedy is forever inseparable from his trial and failure at Chappaquiddick. When he rises in the Senate, as he so frequently does, to assert his moral authority in one sphere or another, we remember a dead girl and the corrupting influence of a powerful and ruthless family. We freely acknowledge that there is a Shakespearean tragedy lurking there somewhere, if only Shakespeare were still writing. But, unable to separate this dancer from his dance, we seldom take the sermons seriously.

Peter Schweizer has written an entertaining, if highly polemical, book for people with long or short memories. That is not an inconsiderable contribution.

Mr. Willcox last wrote in these pages on Joseph McCarthy.