Viewpoints
02.08.08 -- 10:32PM
By Josh Marshall
TPM Reader VH checks in ...
I am not a Hillary supporter - I voted for Obama. But, I applaud the response of the Clinton campaign for the insulting remark about Chelsea and Hillary. It is extremely important for both Democratic candidates to make the networks aware right now that treating either of them as Bill Clinton was treated will be done with severe consequences. If that means every single network finds itself on the outside looking in, then so be it.
Bush made sure the networks, and news media in general, knew that any disrespectful treatment of him like Bill Clinton was subjected to was going to bring results they would find very uncomfortable. That worked - of course in part it worked because the networks and media in general supported Bust no matter what he did. But, even if they don't support the next Democratic president we can't allow him or her to be treated with the dripping contempt that Bill Clinton faced. This episode was the first shot in that "war". http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/177715.php----------
...and an interesting comment from Atrios about Shuster's comment: ShusterWhile the "pimped out" comment was bad, in and of itself it's the kind of thing I could give a pass on based on the fact that sometimes stupid shit comes out of your mouth on live TV. It wasn't something he should have said, obviously, but there probably wasn't real animosity behind it. Just dumb.
But what I find worse is that it's part of a general pattern of taking perfectly normal political activities - in this case a family member helping out with a campaign - and talking about them as if they're unseemly, or corrupt, or inappropriate, or seedy, or sleazy, etc... The press has a long history of doing this with the Clintons, holding them to a weird standard that no one else is held to.-Atrios 18:15
http://atrios.blogspot.com/2008_02_03_archive.html#3137480500636945668