Alert the Media! No, Seriously, Alert Them.
03 October 2007 6:44 pm by Taylor Marsh
Alert the Media! No, Seriously, Alert Them.
–Priceless Update Alert–
 |
You just can’t make up headlines like this one. That it’s blasted across WashingtonPost.com
almost made me spit out out my cocktail.
Bill
Clinton Considered an Asset to Hillary Clinton’s Campaign **
Ya think?
Seriously, these geniuses needed to do a poll on this?
I know some get the vapors every time he’s mentioned. But even if you stop
at the line that Clinton was the first two-term Democratic president since F.D.R.,
you’ve got a win. After George W. Bush’s presidency, former President Bill Clinton
looks like the second coming of a democratic god.
Of course, Baltz does go on to give analysis, and I know these guys don’t write
their headlines, but sheesh. Tell us something we don’t know.
This brings me to the media now smelling something shifting in the primary race. Matthews talked about the Clinton team being “smug” about her numbers. Evidently he’s never talked to anyone in her campaign. One person on his show did get it right, however. Clinton’s working for every vote and point she can get. As for how the campaign is taking this race, my impression is that they’re working their asses off treating the campaign as if they’re double digit points behind.
However, you won’t hear this in Ana Marie Cox’s analysis (h/t GS). There’s a reason. She has a predisposed aversion, if not to Hillary Clinton, certainly to Bill. I covered one very embarrassing appearance she did on “Scarborough Country” a while back. Here’s the background, but it happened right after Clinton’s presidential portrait was unveiled. Here’s the exchange.
COX: You know, it‘s true. Like, I actually have to say that I was talking
to some Democratic consultant today, and they‘re very upset about this
portrait. They‘re worried that this is the going to be thing, sort of
the image, the indelible image that people are going to have of Clinton throughout
the ages.I told them, actually, I think it‘s probably going to be that, you
know, testimony, the videotaped testimony that‘s going to be the indelible
image we have from him through the ages.But this is certainly quite an astonishing portrait. I looked at it, and
I thought—well, I had two thoughts. One is, how much did he pay for
that suit? Because the whole thing is very Men‘s Wearhouse, kind of
like the whole JC Penney catalog.SCARBOROUGH: It‘s off the rack.
COX: Yes, totally off the rack. And then speaking of racks, you know, he
has this sort of gaze into the middle distance. You kind of wonder what it
is he‘s looking at. And then there‘s that finger in the belt loop,
which you referenced.SCARBOROUGH: What‘s that about? Yes, what‘s that about?
COX: Well, it‘s unsavory, I think. You know, as some people have mentioned,
like, it looks like he‘s throwing a gang sign. Some people thought maybe
he‘s pointing at something. I kind of think maybe he‘s looking
for a quick-release catch. What do you think?SCARBOROUGH: Well, I don‘t know. I do know this, though, that for probably
30 years, Ted Koppel reigned as the sexiest man in Washington. Look at the
comparisons here between Clinton and Koppel.Remember “Spy” magazine, “Separated at Birth”? What‘s
this about? I just don‘t understand. This is a man who‘s been
trying very much to refurbish his image. I don‘t know that this is the
portrait that‘s going to do that, do you?COX: It‘s very Bubba. It‘s very Arkansas, right down to the blue
shirt. I mean, like, the blue shirt for a formal portrait?Scarborough Country
Clinton’s suit was so J.C. Penny – Men’s Wearhouse. Honestly, you don’t get any more elitist than Ms. Cox. I can still see her holding court at the TIME party one night during YearlyKos. I did enjoy the party, finding it amusing she had groupies. More power to her. But trusting her analysis on anything Clinton is a gamble.
That Cox’s disdain for Bill Clinton screamed from the screen during the appearance above was obvious and it now seems to have transferred to her coverage of Hillary Clinton. Others beware, because no one is talking about her inevitability today except the hack pack press. This race is long from being over and if you talk to anyone in camp Clinton that’s the way they feel about it too.
But now that Clinton’s gaining some ground the press have their target. They’ve hardly been able to contain themselves with all their cleavage and cackle stories, but now Clinton is officially ahead. And even though she was never expected to win Iowa, now, according to the hack pack press, she simply must or else. All they need now is an underdog for which to root. Let’s just hope they pick the right guy.
** UPDATE (10.4.07): Evidently the Washington Post people got my message. The headline has been changed and now reads: “In Latest Poll, Good News for Both Clintons”.
