updated, with expanded version at Huffington Post
This has got to be the worst case of pictorial sexism aimed at political character assassination ever done by a traditional media outlet. Bent on destroying a prominent Republican political star, not on the basis of her politics, which I disagree with on every level, but by depicting her as a sex symbol, which automatically means she can’t possibly have leadership chops.
What were they thinking? Evan Thomas has the Sarah “Going Rogue” article. The comments on the cover are priceless.
On that note, what was she thinking? Talk about serving up a soft ball for your haters. It’s sad, but that’s just how careful women have to be. If Sarah wants to be taken seriously she simply doesn’t have the luxury of offering this type of image. Though the backlash against the media may prove worth it for Palin.
Since Palin posed for the photo in a profile about “health and fitness,” so it doesn’t take a genius to get that photographing Palin as she exercised isn’t what Runner’s World or Sarah preferred. If Newsweek wanted to feature the shot questioning why Sarah Palin thinks she can be taken seriously with this type of publicity as platform, well, that’s another story entirely. Questioning her choice to offer a semi-cheesecake shot for Runner’s World, when the article was about “health and fitness,” is one thing. But using the photo with the header they chose is something else.
Continue the stereotype that good looking women are airheads, with Sarah Palin now the poster girl.
The choice of photo for the cover of this week’s Newsweek is unfortunate. When it comes to Sarah Palin, this “news” magazine has relished focusing on the irrelevant rather than the relevant. The Runner’s World magazine one-page profile for which this photo was taken was all about health and fitness – a subject to which I am devoted and which is critically important to this nation. The out-of-context Newsweek approach is sexist and oh-so-expected by now. If anyone can learn anything from it: it shows why you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, gender, or color of skin. The media will do anything to draw attention – even if out of context. – Sarah Palin
The Newsweek cover insult goes along with the emails I’m getting. So many people spewing such hate over Sarah that I’ve simply stopped talking about her in casual conversations, especially with liberals. They’ve lost their sanity over Sarah.
But if you want to embolden women to stand behind Sarah to spite everyone, going down the Newsweek road is one way to do it.
No one knows if she’ll ever run again for office, whether it’s 2012 or beyond. Though I will say after Oprah I think the chances remain high she will. It won’t be easy for her, especially once slick Mitt Romney strides back on to the national scene with his economic message, crisp, clean image ready for a very desperate Republican electorate.
The traditional media doesn’t know how to handle Sarah Palin, with liberals being even worse. Blatant sexism certainly isn’t the way, offering magazine covers that no man would ever have to endure. Sure, Barack Obama was seen in the surf, in a swimsuit, bare chested, but it certainly isn’t something Newsweek would have offered while he ran for office, let alone as a politician hawking a bestselling book.
At least we know how low Newsweek will go.
An example of how women are still treated in this country. Peggy Noonan and others often point to Golda Meir and Margaret Thatcher as examples of female leaders who used their gender and didn’t complain about the press coverage they received. Neither of these women had to face the American press.
UPDATE: Jon Meacham is the most clueless white man in America. He removes all doubt in this statement to Michael Calderone.
“We chose the most interesting image available to us to illustrate the theme of the cover, which is what we always try to do. We apply the same test to photographs of any public figure, male or female: does the image convey what we are saying? That is a gender-neutral standard.” – Jon Meacham, Editor of Newsweek
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