The Old Gray Lady Goes After Fred's Wife
There may be more posts today. I do not know as we are working on our next column. But while I was busy digging up information for that column, I ran across this humdinger of a piece in the New York Times. It is in their fashion and style section, and is anythig but an assessment of Jeri Thompson's fashiobn or style. Rather, it does it's best to paint her in a much different light:
AS the election of 2008 approaches with its cast of contenders who bring unprecedented diversity to the quest for the White House, the voting public has been called on to ponder several questions: Is America ready for a woman to be president? What about a black man? A Mormon?
Now, with the possible candidacy of Fred D. Thompson, the grandfatherly actor and former Republican senator from Tennessee, whose second wife is almost a quarter-century his junior, comes a less palatable inquiry that is spurring debate in Internet chat rooms, on cable television and on talk radio: Is America ready for a president with a trophy wife?
The question may seem sexist, even crass, but serious people — as well as Mr. Thompson’s supporters — have been wrestling with the public reaction to Jeri Kehn Thompson, whose youthfulness, permanent tan and bleached blond hair present a contrast to the 64-year-old man who hopes to win the hearts of the conservative core of the Republican party. Will the so-called values voters accept this union?
Mr. Thompson, who needs the support of early primary voters, is expected to formally announce his candidacy any day now. Meanwhile, much of the brouhaha around Mrs. Thompson, 40, is being stirred by photos of her in form-fitting gowns circulating on the Internet.
“You have a situation where a candidate happens to have an attractive wife, therefore it’s open season for smutty thoughts and lowbrow humor, and no concern for the fact that this is a wife and mother, a professional woman?” said Mark Corallo, a former Justice Department official who is a consultant and the chief media adviser to the Thompson campaign. “One picture on the Internet and all of a sudden she’s reduced to being a bimbo?”
On a morning cable news show last month, Joe Scarborough, the commentator and former Republican congressman from Florida, compared Mrs. Thompson to a stripper. The comment came after a segment on the use of stripper poles in exercise routines, but it still stung. It is hard to imagine a man, however handsome, suffering similar insult.
I did take serious issue with the Scarborough c omments. They were rude, uncouth, and uncalled for. Likewise, so is this piece from the New York Times. It basically makes Jeri Thompson, who I will openly admit she is an attractive woman, as some sort of floozy; a trollop without a brain in her head, but a very powerful man at her side. The fact of the matter is that while she is attractive, she does have a "brain." She is a former Senate aide and spokeswoman for the RNC. Neither position suffers fools.
I am further incensed that news outlets, like the New York Times, have decided that a man who has not even officially announced his candidacy can have his wife scrutinized, and in some ways demeaned. This is not news reporting. This sort of piece belongs in the rag tabloids because it is simply trash. Pinch must be proud to have such a lowbrow columnist like Susan Saulny working for him.
Furthermore, the further down in the piece you read, the question arises as to what a wife brings to a candidate. One particular consultant states that the wife means little to the public and is worth "1 out of 100 votes." Additionally, one consultant is quoted as stating women, in general, get an "innate 'ick' reaction" when seeing a wife much younger than the husband is. I contest this point vehemently. I am "much younger" than Thomas, and no one has had an "ick" reaction to either of us. It is not society's job to judge what is and is not "proper" for a couple. If they love one another, and are committed to one another, age should not matter.
Of course we should expect this sort of a swipe by the MSM. They are doing everything they can do to tear Fred Thompson down. (BOTH of these links deal with the LA Times story regarding his abortion lobbying; Captain Ed Morrissey notes at the end of the sencond link that the LA Times story is suspect.) This shows you how afraid they really are of a man that they keep claiming has no shot at winning the Republican nomination, or the White House.
Marcie
AS the election of 2008 approaches with its cast of contenders who bring unprecedented diversity to the quest for the White House, the voting public has been called on to ponder several questions: Is America ready for a woman to be president? What about a black man? A Mormon?
Now, with the possible candidacy of Fred D. Thompson, the grandfatherly actor and former Republican senator from Tennessee, whose second wife is almost a quarter-century his junior, comes a less palatable inquiry that is spurring debate in Internet chat rooms, on cable television and on talk radio: Is America ready for a president with a trophy wife?
The question may seem sexist, even crass, but serious people — as well as Mr. Thompson’s supporters — have been wrestling with the public reaction to Jeri Kehn Thompson, whose youthfulness, permanent tan and bleached blond hair present a contrast to the 64-year-old man who hopes to win the hearts of the conservative core of the Republican party. Will the so-called values voters accept this union?
Mr. Thompson, who needs the support of early primary voters, is expected to formally announce his candidacy any day now. Meanwhile, much of the brouhaha around Mrs. Thompson, 40, is being stirred by photos of her in form-fitting gowns circulating on the Internet.
“You have a situation where a candidate happens to have an attractive wife, therefore it’s open season for smutty thoughts and lowbrow humor, and no concern for the fact that this is a wife and mother, a professional woman?” said Mark Corallo, a former Justice Department official who is a consultant and the chief media adviser to the Thompson campaign. “One picture on the Internet and all of a sudden she’s reduced to being a bimbo?”
On a morning cable news show last month, Joe Scarborough, the commentator and former Republican congressman from Florida, compared Mrs. Thompson to a stripper. The comment came after a segment on the use of stripper poles in exercise routines, but it still stung. It is hard to imagine a man, however handsome, suffering similar insult.
I did take serious issue with the Scarborough c omments. They were rude, uncouth, and uncalled for. Likewise, so is this piece from the New York Times. It basically makes Jeri Thompson, who I will openly admit she is an attractive woman, as some sort of floozy; a trollop without a brain in her head, but a very powerful man at her side. The fact of the matter is that while she is attractive, she does have a "brain." She is a former Senate aide and spokeswoman for the RNC. Neither position suffers fools.
I am further incensed that news outlets, like the New York Times, have decided that a man who has not even officially announced his candidacy can have his wife scrutinized, and in some ways demeaned. This is not news reporting. This sort of piece belongs in the rag tabloids because it is simply trash. Pinch must be proud to have such a lowbrow columnist like Susan Saulny working for him.
Furthermore, the further down in the piece you read, the question arises as to what a wife brings to a candidate. One particular consultant states that the wife means little to the public and is worth "1 out of 100 votes." Additionally, one consultant is quoted as stating women, in general, get an "innate 'ick' reaction" when seeing a wife much younger than the husband is. I contest this point vehemently. I am "much younger" than Thomas, and no one has had an "ick" reaction to either of us. It is not society's job to judge what is and is not "proper" for a couple. If they love one another, and are committed to one another, age should not matter.
Of course we should expect this sort of a swipe by the MSM. They are doing everything they can do to tear Fred Thompson down. (BOTH of these links deal with the LA Times story regarding his abortion lobbying; Captain Ed Morrissey notes at the end of the sencond link that the LA Times story is suspect.) This shows you how afraid they really are of a man that they keep claiming has no shot at winning the Republican nomination, or the White House.
Marcie
posted by Syd And Vaughn | 4:45 PM
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