Both Edwards and Dowd had column space in Sunday's New York TImes op-ed page, but the substance and tone of the two pieces were worlds apart.
In the perfectly titled "Bowling 1, Health Care 0" Edwards implored the political press to start doing its job:
The problem today unfortunately is that voters who take their responsibility to be informed seriously enough to search out information about the candidates are finding it harder and harder to do so, particularly if they do not have access to the Internet.Did you, for example, ever know a single fact about Joe Biden's health care plan? Anything at all? But let me guess, you know Barack Obama's bowling score. We are choosing a president, the next leader of the free world. We are not buying soap, and we are not choosing a court clerk with primarily administrative duties.
...
If voters want a vibrant, vigorous press, apparently we will have to demand it. Not by screaming out our windows as in the movie "Network" but by talking calmly, repeatedly, constantly in the ears of those in whom we have entrusted this enormous responsibility. Do your job, so we can -- as voters -- do ours.
And yet on the very same page, in almost defiant celebration of useless, self-indulgent process commentary, Maureen Dowd speculates about how much Obama's suits cost and proceeds to analyze...his bowling score:
At Joe's Junction gas station in Indianapolis, Obama did his best to shoo away the pesky elitist label. Accused by an Indianapolis reporter of looking like a GQ cover, he said he has only four pairs of shoes and buys "five of the same suit and then I patch them up and wear them repeatedly." But his campaign refused to reveal the brand, presumably because it's not J. C. Penney....
...he resumed wry whingeing about his 37 bowling score, explaining that he finished only seven frames, including two that "were bowled by a 10-year-old" and another by a 3-year-old.
In her defense, Dowd begins her column with the preface that "maybe I've been reading too many stories about the fad of teenage vampire chick lit."
LOL Maureen! Remember in 2004 when you wildly speculated about Kerry's use of Botox, or in 2000 when you called Gore a "pious smarty-pants" and speculated that he "is in a room somewhere right now playing Barry White CDs and struggling to get mellow?"
Point Dowd! I was wrong - politics are hilarious!
|
|
|
Permalink :: 31 Comments :: Post a Comment
|
In order to post a comment, you must be logged in. If you have a member account, please log in to comment.
If not, you can make an account right here. It's quick and free.
