Friday, August 29, 2008

TELL ME THIS IS A JOKE

I saw this headline in the Wall Street Journal Magazine and about shat my pants.


The article includes such gems as "And I always wear sunglasses. My kids tell me to put them on so I don't freak people out when they see me with a goofy hairdo and no makeup."

IS THIS A JOKE?? The mainstream news media responds with this when a female VP candidate is announced??
Can you imagine if we saw an article like that on Sen. Biden? What do you eat for breakfast, Senator? How do you keep the baby weight off, Senator? What's your biggest diet pitfall, Senator?

Whatever you do, do NOT write anything SUBSTANTIVE about a she-candidate, and as the candidate, do NOT talk about anything that could take attention away from the riveting and relevant issues like your hair, makeup or fitness level. I know, maybe it's partly bc there's not a lot substantive to say, but seriously, workout and eating habits?!? Is it Teen People's Ashlee Simpson special? Arrrrgh.

20 comments:

Jules AF said...

But who else will I turn to if not celebrities to find out how to lose baby weight????

La Yen said...

Next month's headline:
Oval office mani/pedi trends--Freedom Tips and red/white/blue gems!

Fun Fantastic Family said...

Perhaps after looking at her steller twenty four month record as governor of a state the size of Boise they decided there was nothing really substantive to report... just kidding... kinda... honestly, there are so many more qualified women than Sarah Palin, even in the Republican Party.

Birdy said...

I blame us. Sure, the media coverage sucks but if we did not support such articles, and demanded more, the media might actually respond. Media-for-profit serves up the stories that people click on, buy, or otherwise support. This, and many of the other issues in the nation today, could be a "We the people" moment. We can take the moment to stand as a generation to demand more from ourselves first, and just maybe the media (and national leaders) will follow. Big maybe, I admit. Big effort from ourselves first. If we wait for the media to lead, it will never happen. Anyway, on to more important issues, I do love those emo glasses Palin wears.

Erin said...

one of the first things i saw was, "what's her relationship like with her children?"

i have never heard that about a male candidate ever.

but it's CRAZY that she had a baby four months ago. but it would also be crazy for a male vp candidate to have had a baby four months ago.

Jennifer said...

She named her first child "Track"? This is their VP chioce? Could this be any more ridiculous?

Megan said...

Did you see the Colbert Report?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBt_gX0gwXs

Dorothy said...

As silly as it all is, I do remember that they did make a deal of that with Mitt. I still remember them talking about how he didn't eat the skin at KFC.

Mrs. Clark said...

Remember when Rush Limbaugh was excoriated for saying that if Hillary were the candidate, we'd be inundated with stories like this about her? Well, this is the kind of stuff he meant.

I hate that there is this totally sexist division between male and female candidates. Even Hillary piled on, calling Kay Bailey Hutchison "the Breck girl." (You all probably don't remember the idealized pictures of women, usually blondes, for Breck shampoo ads.) Women's bodies, faces, and hair, not to mention their parenting, are covered ad nauseum in the media.

So, don't buy People, Us, Hello! or any of those other celeb mags!

KT said...

YES! When I heard she was going to be McCain's running mate, I was all, "yeah, but like what does she EAT and how does she keep her body up after having all those babies." Then I secretly hated her because I thought being hot came naturally for her, but now I know that she eats right and exercises like a proper lady should, and she probably practices walking with a book on her head, too. What a lady. I wonder what her favorite thing to do in the kitchen is?

Ashley said...

Not a lot substantive to say about Palin? You're kidding, right?

I find her awesome for running marathons, a family and a state.

Palin-McCain 2008!

Lindsay said...

I love the fact that I knew how to pronounce her last name because she has the same last name as a member of Monty Python. To add to the ridiculousness I heard some guys on the radio this morning comparing the hotness of Sarah Palin against the hotness of Cindy McCain.

I wonder if anyone ever thought about the hotness of, say, Vice President John C. Calhoun. Probably not.

Anonymous said...

sheeeesh. Is is so wrong that when I first saw her I wondered to myself how she looked so good after having all those kids? I can see how others might ask the same. Suppose I'm on the wrong wavelength here... those politic-distracting thoughts certainly didn't come to mind when I first saw Hillary's cankles but oh well, what do you do.

Carina said...

I think The Daily Show says it better than I do.

Andrew said...

John C. Calhoun was TEH Hotness.

And Ashley, running marathons and having kids maybe substantive if you're talking about, say, a boyfriend or girlfriend.

Not so much when you're talking about the person who will take over when McPastey croaks.

Liz said...

More proof that women and men will never be considered equal in some arenas.

Natalie said...

Wasn't Obama just on the cover of People? Maybe the mainstream news media is just trying to dumb her down so she could appeal to the same people that picked up Obama's cover story magazine?

H C M said...

So what does make a woman impressive, substantive, worthy of note?

I am not asking whether S. P. is worthy of being the president or vice president of the USA. I am asking simply what makes a woman impressive to you or your readers. Is it different than for a man?

And on the political side, this is one entertaining year...there was a Mormon, a wife of a former President, Obama--don't dare label him, an old war hero, a former high school basketball star, a glib preacher, the other Breck Girl, and Mr. Angry (Joe Biden). What else can happen in the next few weeks?

Ashley said...

Substance and foreign policy experience are different things. If we're talking about experience as substance, where is Obama's? I must admit, Obama is a really good writer though. I'm enjoying the memoirs he wrote, while other senators were authoring bills.

Liz said...

Gurr, I love reading your blog. I don't know how you do it but it's hilarious. About the media on Sarah Palin, I think some people just like to see politicians as normal and the media does that. Shoot, I'm not a Hillary fan but if the media printed a bio on her, I would totally grab it. I even grabbed the People magazine about Obama. It's good to see big timers being like us. Makes me feel more like a big timer in a way. Not that it's right. What did Pres. Bush have for breakfast today folks??:) But I am totally guilty of it and a sucker for it.