Send in the clowns! Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank is writing a new book about conservative personality Glenn Beck entitled Tears of a Clown.

Politico reporter Michael Calderone broke the news with a Milbank interview: “Milbank said that what sets Beck apart is a willingness to go where other hosts will not. ‘I think he has a lower bar, and commercially, it’s pure genius,’ Milbank said. ‘He has found the absolute sweet spot in the market right now.’ While impressed with Beck’s success, Milbank doubts that he’s really ‘a true believer.’”

The book will be published by Doubleday, the publisher behind the columnist’s book, Homo Politicus. The Beck book will enter a crowded field: journalist Alexander Zaitchik has a Beck biography coming in June and John Avlon‘s political book, Wingnuts: How the Lunatic Fringe is Hijacking America has a section about Beck.

Photo via, taken by Julia Ewan, The Washington Post.