Are New York Times columnists necessary? Are Men Necessary, the much-publicized new book by leftist NYT columnist Maureen Dowd, is bombing. It sold just over 10,000 copies in its first week. But Dowd's publisher, Putnam, is spinning it as a success, saying that the book's sales are "on target". Whatever. If a conservative columnist wrote a heavily publicized book and it only shifted 10,000 units its first week, liberals would be merrily dancing on its grave.