Politically Blonde
Lefties whack Newsweek for sexism. MediaMatters. Hullabaloo. It’s feminist bites lefty rag, a pretty rare and newsworthy occurrence for a crowd that usually slams as they do, not as they say. Palin didn’t like it, either, went after it on Facebook. Good. Point out their raging hypocrisy.
But as a professional tabloid newspaperman, I’m not going to squawk.
Mocking pols is not only a fine American journalistic tradition, it’s an important part of our nation’s political discourse. My own newspaper put an Elmer Fudd hat on Mitt Romney when he claimed to be a hunter, a party hat on Deval Patrick for living large, had steam coming out of Boston Mayor Tom Menino’s ears, and periodically culls the photo archives for pol shots that will illustrate the tone of the story. Hillary looking like she’s about to claw your eyeballs out and the other where she looks like she just sat on a whoopie cushion are perennial favorites. My newspaper has a Bozo lookalike on the front page today to represent teachers unions that are … behaving like Bozos. But political mockery has become a (selective) minefield largely thanks to the kind of people who are now unexpectedly leaping to Palin’s defense.
There’s a saying in my business. Tabloid journalism is like rough sex. You need to know when to hold back. There’s always a risk of a little good clean fun going badly wrong, though Newsweek may have been caught off guard by the friendly fire in this case.
In this case, Newsweek is trying to make Palin look like a vapid, chirpy cheerleader. It probably is kind of sexist when you consider how they all swoon over Obama’s pects. Did anyone think Newsweek was playing down the middle in this fight in the first place? I’d put this in the category of “they spelled her name right.” She looks great. They might think they look clever. But Newsweek might want to rent “Legally Blonde” for a simple, easy-to-understand allegory on the dangers of underestimating perky. Also, look up all the B-movie cowboy hits on Reagan. Apparently a lot of lefty feminists just woke up to the fact that Sarah Palin has been unfairly disparaged. Nothing new about that. A whole lot of other professional women and moms out there, if they didn’t know it already, will be able to do the math pretty quickly when they see it on the newsstands. Keep it up, Newsweek. You might even get her elected.
Malkin thinks she looks good, too. Has a bigger problem with the naughty schoolgirl tarting-up of the Palin doll inside.
“Pigs fly.” Legal Insurrection salutes MediaMatters.
The Other McCain: “Does Sarah Palin want to assume a feminist victimhood posture?” I dunno, I’d call it more a case of hoisting them on heir own petard, but point taken that she could work on that as a line of attack.Exatly along the lines RSM suggests, in fact:
“Yes, I am a woman. Yes, I have legs. And, yes, I’ve been told they’re very nice legs. Exactly why the editors of Newsweek decided that showing me in shorts was appropriate for the cover of their magazine is for them to explain — and good luck with that. I guess I’m trying to figure out what side of the double-standard applies here. Levi can get naked for Playgirl and still be taken seriously, but Newsweek thinks it’s something scandalous to show me in running shorts? Just wait until I grant my first in-depth foreign-policy interview to Maxim!”
OK, here’s lefty TBogg blaming the victim. It’s the short skirt = rape invitation argument. Very enlightened. Boggfellow also indulges in some conspiracy theorizing on whether she actually runs or not.
Allahpundit thinks people who pose are in no position to complain, and observes that sexism and politics aside, hot gams sell magazines. Which might be the loftiest journalistic principle on exhibit here.
Got ‘em? Flaunt ‘em. You go, girl.
Meanwhile, the rest of you … if you’re going rogue, do it here.
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Posted by Jules Crittenden at 10:10 am Comments (4) on Wednesday, November 18, 2009
4 Responses to “Politically Blonde”
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November 18th, 2009 at 10:18 am
LOL I love reading the Boston Herald as it lampoons any pol who deserves it.
November 18th, 2009 at 11:04 am
Can somebody please tell me what she’s holding in her hand in this picture? I can’t tell and it’s been bugging me.
November 18th, 2009 at 12:09 pm
I wish I’d looked that good when I was her age.
November 18th, 2009 at 12:27 pm
The picture is from a shoot she did for Runners World that profiled her last year. Mrs. Palin runs marathons, and runs, outdoors, in winter, in Alaska.
http://www.runnersworld.com/photo/sarahpalin/
No idea what she is holding. Perhaps her wallet?