Monday, August 15, 2005
Stupid Premise, Headline, Article (And One Good Point)
Husband issues loom in Hillary Clinton Senate race
This is the idea: Hillary has a philandering husband named Bill (with a certain intern producing a public humliation)-- who has found himself in various legal trouble over the years.
AND her emergent challenger Jeanine has a philandering husband named Al (with a certain out-of-wedlock child producing a public humiliation) -- who has found himself in various legal trouble over the years.
Gosh! Just watch as these professional women try to push forward and deal with the anchors that their husbands place upon their ambitions!!
How will they manage it? Perhaps they can console each other as real-life political "Desperate Housewives"?
Please.
Jeanine Pirro has a "husband problem." Hillary Clinton does not. It might be different in other parts of the country, but New York voters don't equate a felony conviction on tax fraud charges (Al's problem) with the impeachment of a president (who carried the Empire State quite handily twice).
Could Hillary face a problem with Bill if/when she campaigns for president in 2008? Sure, but most red-state voters who hate Bill Clinton aren't going to be welcoming Hillary with open arms anyway.
But that's down the road.
There's a reason why Al doesn't appear anywhere on Jeanine Pirro's web-site and Bill is all over Hillary Clinton's.
Bill Clinton is a net-plus for Hillary in New York. Yes, that says as much about the state as the candidate. But, that's where the contest is being played out. Everything else aside, generally, an ex-president (impeached or otherwise) beats an ex-felon.
Anyone putting together a silly "they both cheat on their wives" story is being both stupid and lazy.
One dead-on observation:
Talk about triangulation!
UPDATE: Maybe Pirro's troubles are too much even for New York's consultants!
UPDATE: As much as I scrupulously try to keep the contents of this blog from that of my day job, I have to take issue with both John Cole and Jeralynn Merritt that this Post story is a "cheap shot." Keep in mind that I have absolutely NO, NADA, ZIPPO, RIEN role in assigning, editing or positioning stories at the paper. That said, the story's main nugget: Al Pirro's sudden interest in his out-of-wedlock daughter, culminating in the promise of a brand-new car is, well, convenient in light of his wife's recent political decision. Yes, the mother of the child has an axe to grind, no question. But if Al Pirro's activities -- and his potential to be an albatross around Jeanine's neck -- are worthy of speculation, why isn't this a legitimate question for reporters to pursue?
This is certainly not a case of "Oooh! Al Pirro's daughter got trashed -- it's Jeanine's fault!" The story focused on what Al has been doing as in recent weeks -- and days -- while political decisions were being made.
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This is the idea: Hillary has a philandering husband named Bill (with a certain intern producing a public humliation)-- who has found himself in various legal trouble over the years.
AND her emergent challenger Jeanine has a philandering husband named Al (with a certain out-of-wedlock child producing a public humiliation) -- who has found himself in various legal trouble over the years.
Gosh! Just watch as these professional women try to push forward and deal with the anchors that their husbands place upon their ambitions!!
How will they manage it? Perhaps they can console each other as real-life political "Desperate Housewives"?
Please.
Jeanine Pirro has a "husband problem." Hillary Clinton does not. It might be different in other parts of the country, but New York voters don't equate a felony conviction on tax fraud charges (Al's problem) with the impeachment of a president (who carried the Empire State quite handily twice).
Could Hillary face a problem with Bill if/when she campaigns for president in 2008? Sure, but most red-state voters who hate Bill Clinton aren't going to be welcoming Hillary with open arms anyway.
But that's down the road.
There's a reason why Al doesn't appear anywhere on Jeanine Pirro's web-site and Bill is all over Hillary Clinton's.
Bill Clinton is a net-plus for Hillary in New York. Yes, that says as much about the state as the candidate. But, that's where the contest is being played out. Everything else aside, generally, an ex-president (impeached or otherwise) beats an ex-felon.
Anyone putting together a silly "they both cheat on their wives" story is being both stupid and lazy.
One dead-on observation:
"The real agenda is to get money into New York state to attack Senator Clinton using negatives and independent expenditures with the goal of making her less significant as a presidential contender," [Demorcratic political strategist Hank Sheinkopf] said. "The presidential campaign began the day Jeanine Pirro announced her candidacy."Exactly. The funny thing is that Hillary Clinton is a self-generating Fountain of Political Youth. A simple letter announcing that a candidate is running against Hillary produces millions and keeps GOP consultants happily employed. On the other hand, the energy that the right wing expends demonizing Hillary helps her with her left base (despite how hostile that base may be to Hillary's DLC alliances) .
Talk about triangulation!
UPDATE: Maybe Pirro's troubles are too much even for New York's consultants!
UPDATE: As much as I scrupulously try to keep the contents of this blog from that of my day job, I have to take issue with both John Cole and Jeralynn Merritt that this Post story is a "cheap shot." Keep in mind that I have absolutely NO, NADA, ZIPPO, RIEN role in assigning, editing or positioning stories at the paper. That said, the story's main nugget: Al Pirro's sudden interest in his out-of-wedlock daughter, culminating in the promise of a brand-new car is, well, convenient in light of his wife's recent political decision. Yes, the mother of the child has an axe to grind, no question. But if Al Pirro's activities -- and his potential to be an albatross around Jeanine's neck -- are worthy of speculation, why isn't this a legitimate question for reporters to pursue?
This is certainly not a case of "Oooh! Al Pirro's daughter got trashed -- it's Jeanine's fault!" The story focused on what Al has been doing as in recent weeks -- and days -- while political decisions were being made.
