Favreau's Sexist Photo Is No Laughing Matter (Dee Dee Myers)

[atimetocome]

No,it is not a laughing matter.

http://www.vanityfair.com/online/politics/2008/12/favre...


Favreau's Sexist Photo Is No Laughing Matter


by Dee Dee Myers
December 8, 2008, 5:00 PM

favreau-clinton.jpg


...................


What’s bugging me is his intention. He isn’t putting his hand on her “chest,” as most of the articles and conversations about the picture have euphemistically referred to it. Rather, his hand—cupped just so—is clearly intended to signal that he’s groping her breast. And why? Surely, not to signal he finds her attractive. Au contraire. It’s an act of deliberate humiliation. Of disempowerment. Of denigration.

And it disgusts me.

Oh, I know: If Hillary can get over it, why can’t I? Her spokesman, Phillipe Reinnes, tried to make light of the incident. “Senator Clinton is pleased to learn of Jon’s obvious interest in the State Department, and is currently reviewing his application,” he told the Washington Post in an E-mail. Obviously, she has no interest in making a federal case out of this particular incident, particularly as both the Clinton and Obama camps work on letting bygones be bygones. She has to pick her battles, and for her this ain’t a hill worth dying on.

But there is a larger issue at stake. At what point does sexist behavior get taken seriously? At what point do people get punished in ways that suggest this kind of behavior, this kind of thinking, is unacceptable? At what point do we insist there will be consequences? Clearly, that didn’t happen during the recent presidential campaign, when Hillary was—as I guess she is now—fair game. The press, the pundits, and the public could say things about her (“She’s a shrew!”) and to her (“Iron my shirt!) that were over-the-top sexist—yet got almost no reaction..............................................................................................................

[ErinBerin84]

1. as I said in the same thread in general discussion

May not be a laughing matter, but I still don't think it's worth being fired over. But that's just my opinion, and apparently Hillary and Obama's, unless something changed that we don't know about. It's not the first time I've disagreed with Dee Dee "Why Women Should Rule the World" Myers.

[DJ13]

2. Posing with a piece of cardboard is not sexist behavior

[atimetocome]

6. get a clue.

[Thrill]

9. More Fake Outrage

[NYC_SKP]

61. No Kidding...What if a woman intern had done it? (heads explode)

[mtnsnake]

11. And I suppose making a racial gesture to a cardbd cutout of a black person wouldn't be racist

That makes lots of sense

[Occam Bandage]

39. What is a "racial gesture?"

I'm at a loss. Like, if they had a noose? That would pretty clearly be racist.

[TheWraith]

64. Don't be an idiot.

Try actually looking at the picture. Two guys hugging, kissing, and offering beer to a photo of somebody isn't denigrating, it's "we love you." Ten bucks says that this was taken at a convention watch party the night of Hillary's speech. It's inappropriate for public consumption, but to pretend that it represents any kind of negative intent is just silly.

[Captain Hilts]

3. I'll bet Chris Matthews thinks it's funny. nt

[atimetocome]

8. Your post says it all.

[jenmito]

4. It's NOT SEXIST! It's immature! And the "iron my shirt" thing was most likely a plant.

It was too-perfectly choreographed.

[atimetocome]

10. How many times will you find excuses for sexist behaviors?

[Kahuna]

19. I too have always believed that the "iron my shirt" guy was a plant. nt

[rvablue]

67. Then you have something in common with the far RW fringe. n/t

[Whisp]

71. betcher ass it was. Hilliary is not very quick witted, and she

had one in the can for that incident. I forget exactly what she said, but it screamed preparatory to me.

[Occam Bandage]

44. He was a radio shock jock. He admitted to it on-air. nt

[NYC_SKP]

60. RIGHT! It's not friggin' sexist, it's just stupid.

a fucking cardboard cutout....

....I'm embarrassed by this bull.

...there are real victims of real sexism out there...

[gmudem]

5. Really?

I'm shocked that anybody actually cares about this considering we just lost 533,000 jobs last month and the economy is going from terrible to even worse than that.

The guy was drunk and did something stupid. I would be pretty shocked if Dee Dee has never done the same. These things happen, it's time to get back to reality and save our country.

[Thrill]

7. Dee Dee 'I need some attention' Myers

Get over yourself

[mtnsnake]

14. WTF?

What's wrong with Dee Dee Myers?

[atimetocome]

15. Every time I hear her she is a strong supporter of Obama.

[atimetocome]

17. ah, attack the messenger. How Rovian of you.

[ProSense]

23. Yeah, she craves it

Hillary's Bone-headed Argument:

Hillary Clinton's comments on Friday -- invoking Bobby Kennedy's assassination after the California primary in 1968 to shore up her argument that Democratic primaries are often unresolved in June -- were bone-headed on two scores.

Since people obviously cannot let go of primary bitterness, gotta love Dee Dee.

Actually, Dee Dee is an idiot.

[mtnsnake]

29. "Actually, Dee Dee is an idiot"

You'd love to be an idiot like Dee Dee Myers.

[Obamanaut]

12. Well, that picture has certainly been worth waaay more than a

thousand words.

[countingbluecars]

13. Enough already. n/t

[srhuddle]

16. Regarding "Iron my shirt!" getting no reaction:

It received little attention for the simple reason that the press and people in general didn't want to dignify something so blatantly bigoted with discussion, much less allow the moron's statement to reach a much wider audience than it did. I have no idea how the "Iron my shirt" nutcase has anything to do with a piece of cardboard that was cupped suggestively (assuming you can even cup cardboard) by Barack's chief speechwriter. Like it or not, Obama's canned speeches captivated millions and won him the election. Yes, they were canned with Barack's main ideas and input, but said input was strung together and formed into a cohesive whole by writers, namely Favreau. Wanting to throw him under the bus now for a mildly stupid offense is an interesting tactic to say the least.

[flvegan]

18. Brilliance, this whole issue.

Not. But good for threads.

[iamthebandfanman]

20. want a whaaaburger

with them cries?

[MrSlayer]

21. Classic mountain out of a molehill.

Young guys, having a few beers, joking around, period.

[ProSense]

22. At least Favreau wasn't busted for drunk driving

Dee Dee is an idiot. She's probably bitter that there's no room in the administration for her.

BILL AND HILL CHEERED DEE DEE AFTER DRIVING/DRINKING BUST

Wednesday, July 12th 1995

PASADENA President Clinton and First Lady Hillary Clinton both spoke with former White House spokeswoman Dee Dee Myers after her June 27 arrest for drunk driving, and according to Myers, the President had some humorous things to say.

"He really cheered me up," Myers told a gathering of television reporters here. While declining to be specific, Myers said Clinton said "some funny stuff. He was great. He was wonderful. I really appreciated hearing from them."

In response to a question, Myers, now a co-host on CNBC's "Equal Time," said she doesn't have a drinking problem. Her arrest on charges of drinking and driving was a "mistake" for which there is "no excuse," she said.

Myers appeared at the biannual gathering of TV critics and reporters a day after she was scheduled to be on NBC's "Tonight" show, alongside actor Hugh Grant. She canceled that booking, she said, on the advice of her attorney.

She kept her date here, she said, because it was not a forum built around humor, as is "Tonight."

"There's nothing funny about and I don't think the judge in the Washington, D.C., court is going to think there's anything funny about it," said Myers, who's scheduled to go to court later this month. She hasn't yet entered a plea. Richard Huff

more

[ecstatic]

24. What will Dee Dee do when confronted with real sexism?

It must be nice to live in her world.

[FrenchieCat]

25. We are all on the same team,

and Favreau apologized.

Anyone that wants to go around dividing us some more can kiss my ass.

[zulchzulu]

26. Dee Dee, Favreau was sauced and some dork took a photo...

It's incredible how someone could be demonized for a fleeting moment when they were obviously drunk and somebody took a picture...

To think it meant anything more than a drunken prank on a piece of cardboard is approaching a mild form of insanity... or more about grandstanding or fake outrage... add a topping of prudish sanctimony to taste...

[kerry-is-my-prez]

27. So I guess it would be ok for someone to do the same to a Michelle Obama cutout?

Somehow I think everyone here would be howling. At least I hope so - otherwise this board has turned into something worse than the freeperville.

The intent was obviously to demean a woman (Hillary), and I am disappointed that there are so many people here who say it's perfectly ok.

Things sure have changed since the days of feminism.

[ProSense]

28. Your assumptions are all wrong

So I guess it would be ok for someone to do the same to a Michelle Obama cutout? Somehow I think everyone here would be howling.

No, it's a piece of cardboard

At least I hope so - otherwise this board has turned into something worse than the freeperville.

Seriously, the phony outrage rivals the wingnut hissy fits.

[mtnsnake]

32. You'd be the first one posting umpteen threads of outrage over it

with links in ever post connected to links connected to even more goofy links.

[ProSense]

35. I have a tendency not to be outraged by people touching cardboard

but that's just me.

[mtnsnake]

40. Yeah right. I could just see the thousands of threads by you if it happened to Teresa Heinz Kerry

You'd be throwing fits for a month over it.

[ProSense]

46. Wrong again.

Cardboard Teresa isn't Teresa, it's cardboard. Two guys touching cardboard Teresa, is still cardboard.

Projecting is not an argument. The outrage is manufactured and moronic.

[mtnsnake]

54. No, I'm right. You'd be the first one to explode if Favreau's target was Teresa

Heinz Kerry. For you to deny that is simply laughable.

[ProSense]

56. No, you're wrong.

You are wrong. For you to keep insisting is desperate.

[mtnsnake]

58. "For you to keep insisting is desperate"

Now THAT is precious! LOL!

[zulchzulu]

47. I've met Teresa Heinz Kerry and I bet she would think it was funny

She has a pretty good sense of humor. I also think Hillary's response shows she also has a sense of humor and knows it's much ado about nuttin'.

[mtnsnake]

51. Yes but that has nothing to do with the point I made to ProSense

I'm talking about the evident hypocrisy shown by people here who take such delight in sticking up for Favreau only because of who his target was. If it was anyone but Hillary (like Teresa Heinz Kerry or Michelle Obama), this place would unanimously explode in outrage over it.

[ProSense]

53. Yes, it does, but you'll continue

denying and projecting.

[Skip Intro]

34. No, they are spot on, and obvious.

As for faux outrage, well, I'm not going to argue with an expert, ProSense.

[ProSense]

36. Ah, BS logic.

Opposing Hillary Clinton for SoS (real person, real position) = phony outrage over cardboard (non-issue, non-person).

Seriouly, the outrage is pathetic.

[zulchzulu]

30. I've had people try to french-kiss my Obama cutout...

We could play this game... would Barack want to be openly kissed by a stranger in broad daylight in front of his wife and kids and TV cameras? Um... probably not.

Then again, the cutout that some people wanted to give tongue to is CARDBOARD. People who were fondling my Obama cutout in broad daylight and in the morning hours weren't even drunk.

Remember that the cutout is cardboard...

It's. Not. Real.

[atimetocome]

37. My guess is that those people were not of national Obama staff

stature. It does make a difference. But also, sexism is sexism no matter who does it.

[FrenchieCat]

33. Michelle isn't a politician. She didn't run to become President.

She's not trying to compete and call herself perfectly willing to go up against men in a political world.

BTW, Favreau apologized.

[Name removed]

42. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[FrenchieCat]

62. MIchelle is not a politician.

and I think that Bill Clinton had more to answer for than for that imaginary act that you came up with. I think having his cock sucked in the White House by someone other than his wife, and having the public find out about it was one of them. I'm not sure how humiliating that was for Hillary Clinton, but she seem to have withstood his antics. She didn't get on national Television and cry that her husband was a sexist pig.

I know that when that happened, I defended Bill Clinton...even though he initially lied about it. Was what he did sexist? Most likely so. Did I choose to hate him for it? No. I decided that if she could put with him, and that was her husband, then so could I.

Also, I joined a group called MoveOn.org.
they were all about letting go of the bullshit
and getting back to the real issues.

Now, Hillary has accepted Favreau's apology, and so I will be consistent, and I will defend him by saying what he did was crude and rude. But that's about it.

[atimetocome]

38. The press and heads here would be exploding had that been the case.

[ProSense]

43. What about Obama and Hillary,

the two people who obviously don't care?

Report: Obama's transition team said Favreau apologized, Hillary accepted, issue over.

Commentary: Clinton changes her tune on sexism

If you're so concerned about Hillary and strongly believe this is sexism, maybe you should write a letter to her and demand that she take up the case on behalf of the piece of cardboard.

[atimetocome]

50. I was talking of Michelle.

[ProSense]

55. You claimed the press and heads her would be exploding.

In fact, that's nonsense. The notion that the press would care if the cardboard was of Michelle would spark outrage is simply projecting to justify the phony outrage.

Flawed logic.

As the situation stands, Obama and Hillary have put to rest (for real) this non-issue.

[JI7]

31. he did something stupid and offensive and he apologized

i don't know much about him other than he can write great speeches. i don't think i want to know more about him and hope he stops acting like an ass .

[Occam Bandage]

41. I think it's sexist, and reflects poorly on Favreau's maturity.

Whatever. I can't afford to be OMG OUTRAGED every time someone is immoral.

[11cents]

45. Yes, and that should have consequences.

This, plus the public boasting about the fancy digs he's getting in DC (as the country plummets into a depression) should make Obama think hard about having this squalling baby-man on "the team," now matter how good a word-slinger he is.

[Occam Bandage]

49. I dunno. I think nationwide public humiliation, with a personal apology to the woman you

fake-groped is an appropriate consequence. It has nothing to do with his speechwriting, nor did he create a hostile work environment, so I don't see firing him. As for his "boasting?" If you read the original article, it was just a matter-of-fact declaration of where he lived during the campaign and where he lives now, in response to a reporter's questioning in a segment about him. Should he have lied?

[11cents]

59. You're probably right.

Best to write my real feelings: I really don't care what happens to this guy; he probably shouldn't be fired. It's all the excuse-making on this board that's making me sick -- the notion that because it was "just cardboard" it was meaningless. Christ on a crutch. Does being "on the team" mean throwing two-thirds of your brain away? I'm not a big Myers fan, but I'm also not willing to be willfully idiotic, so I know that she's right that that photo is a display of contempt. It's shows rather junior members of "the team" saying that because a very senior member is a woman, she should be treated as a twat.

[ProSense]

63. "It's all the excuse-making on this board that's making me sick" It's not just on this board

Video: It's a piece of cardboard

That's a fact.

[Occam Bandage]

66. I agree. It's "just cardboard," but that doesn't nullify the intent to degrade.

And yes, I'm sure Hillary did laugh it off. I'm pretty sure that absolutely nothing, but nothing, fazes her at this point. So what? Whether she's used to sexist treatment isn't the point. Personally, I don't care about Gropey McCardboard one whit, but all the people leaping to his defense are disheartening, and (unwittingly) part of the overarching problem in Washington (and this goes just as much for Team Elephant as it does to Team Donkey).

We always say the other guys are wrong, and so nobody on their side really pays attention to our scolding. We always say our guys are right, and so without a believable voice telling them whether they're right or wrong, and after years of being surrounded by yes-men and drowning out the diffuse complaints of the opposition, they lose their bearings. From dumbfuck kids groping cardboard to Senators taking millions in bribes, Washingtonites seem to lose their sense of shame, and the blind team spirit on display here is part of the reason.

[ProSense]

68. This is just bizarre

From dumbfuck kids groping cardboard to Senators taking millions in bribes, Washingtonites seem to lose their sense of shame, and the blind team spirit on display here is part of the reason.

Which Senators are you referring to? And what does any that have to do with this cardboard non-issue? I could understand you comparing it to Hillary's "skies will open up" comment now on video, but "Senators taking millions in bribes"? Which Senators?

[Occam Bandage]

70. Do you believe that the aggregate sum of all goods, services, and cash transferred

to all Senators in exchange for political favors is under $2,000,000? You're very optimistic.

[Beacool]

69. I agree with you.

It has been a hard lesson during this interminable election that race trumped gender hands down. It is ironic that the same people who were rending their clothes over any whiff of racism can't see why it's offensive and sexist that a PE's senior speech writer is caught copping a feel of an effigy of a very senior female cabinet member.

If the excuse is that this is just a piece of cardboard, then a noose hanging from a tree is just a piece of rope and nothing to get upset about. These must also be the same people who thought that there was nothing wrong with having a mannequin representing Palin hanging from the neck, that also was supposed to be "fun".

I don't think the guy should be fired, but he definitely showed poor judgment and some sensitivity training would be in order just as in the corporate world.

[Starry Messenger]

48. Ham and mortar. N/t

[Joe the Revelator]

52. I can't believe this is still being discussed

[Colobo]

57. I can't believe this stupid thing is considered an issue.

[MercutioATC]

65. Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!

...and that's all I have to say on the matter.

[intheflow]

72. Locking.

OP is eating pizza.