mediamatters.org/columns/200702200003
column (subscription required) last week about the Illinois senator's foray onto the presidential campaign trail, as Dowd traipsed out to the heartland to watch the Democratic sensation up close. But as is her custom, Dowd fixated on personality and stagecraft, not substance, as the poison-penned, Wednesday/Saturday columnist for The New York Times painted a relentlessly unflattering portrait of the senator. In the eyes of Dowd, Obama was out of his element on the national stage: "testy," "irritated," and "conflicted."
attacks that in the past have been embraced by the mainstream press and tripped up Democrats such as Hillary Rodham Clinton, Al Gore, and John Kerry. The truth is, almost nothing about the Obama column rang true. In part, because Dowd provided virtually no evidence to back up her contentious claims that Obama was "testy," "irritated," and "conflicted" while campaigning in Iowa. Perhaps a career cynic like Dowd is put off by Obama's audacity-of-hope message. That, and her contrarian impulse to bash Obama when most others were not. But it appears the senator's specific sin in Iowa was that he publicly tweaked the press, and particularly the media buzz created when People magazine recently ran a candid, shirtless photo of Obama vacationing on a Hawaii beach. "You've been reporting on how I look in a swimsuit," Obama noted. Rule Number 1: Celebrity Beltway journalists don't like to be upstaged in public; Just ask Howard Dean, who, when declaring his presidential candidacy on June 23, 2003, asked rhetorically, "Is the media reporting the truth?"
glaringly obvious), candidates, and especially Democratic candidates, are not allowed to question the competence of pundits and reporters. Dowd in her column sternly rebuked Obama and reminded him who sets the campaign rules -- it ain't the candidates. Dowd offered no clear examples of Obama looking conflicted. He was left munching trail mix all day while, he said, "the press got fed before me." Obama's utterly trivial remark about the press getting fed first in no way suggested that he seemed a bit dazed. Dowd was reduced to interpreting Obama's body language for vague insights. Dowd produced no examples of the type of "advance billing" Obama failed to live up to. Dowd offered no examples to bolster either vague claim that Obama was "pristine" or "too refined." Also, note "dumb blond" appears in quotes, even though the words are Dowd's and nobody else's. " Dowd provided no information to back up her blind quote that Obama mocks "pretty boys," and specifically Edwards. Dowd offered no examples to bolster her claim about Obama.
dispatch from Iowa's Des Moines Register: After shedding his suit jacket, Obama sat on a stool for a relaxed question-and-answer session that touched on improving education, enlarging federal grants for college students, raising teacher pay, insuring those who have no health care, lowering health care costs for all Americans, ending poverty, dealing with global warming, and ending the country's dependence on foreign oil through the development of alternative fuels. Dowd though, dismissed Obama's detailed discussion of the issues. Indeed, Dowd long ago signaled that she had little interest in voter concerns.
Dowd, a political columnist for the Times, had no interest in any of that. She's been professionally rewarded for her decision to do as little legwork as possible for her column.
The problem is Dowd has established a record of being untrustworthy, particularly when painting unflattering portraits of prominent Democrats. Actually, what the controversy proved was that Dowd rarely let the facts get in the way of a good smear. Here's how Dowd framed the case against the Clintons: There were lists of Hillary's china and silver patterns, available at Borsheim's in Omaha and other stores. Time was of the essence because Hillary, who had been elected to the Senate, could take expensive gifts only until she was sworn in and the Senate gift ban went into effect. Hillary Clinton never listed her china and silver patterns at Borsheim's (or, registered "like a bride," as Dowd also claimed in print).
according to the Senate Ethics Manual, "The Gifts Rule contains 23 exceptions: The following gifts are expressly excluded from the Rule's limitations: ... provided by an individual on the basis of a personal friendship." Most of the controversial gifts given to the Clintons would have fit that "personal friendship" waiver, which meant there was no rush. The Gifts Rule also contained another relevant exception: spouses. In other words, friends would have been free to buy expensive housewarming gifts for Bill Clinton long after Hillary became senator, as long as she asked for waivers based on the spouse exemption. Fast-forward to 2004, when Dowd was busy mocking John Kerry as an overstuffed, phony elitist, which just happened to be the same negative narrative the GOP was peddling at the time. Dowd informed readers that while at a campaign rally in Milwaukee, Kerry, desperate to connect with working class Americans, uncorked this comically overwrought question: "Who among us doesn't like NASCAR?" According to Dowd, Kerry's laughable statement came "across like Mr Collins, Elizabeth Bennet's pretentious cousin in 'Pride and Prejudice' " (or Gilligan's Island's Thurston Howell III), and lots of Times readers likely rolled their eyes in agreement. Dowd later peddled the killer Kerry quote during a television appearance. Dowd was the first journalist to report Kerry's embarrassing NASCAR gaffe, even though Dowd herself was not at the Milwaukee rally. Instead, she learned about the quote from Times colleague Sheryl Gay Stolberg, who was covering Kerry on the campaign trail.
According to tape recordings of the Milwaukee speech, Kerry never said, "Who among us doesn't like NASCAR"? Dowd though, never conceded the fact that she had manufactured an unflattering quote and attributed it to a Democratic presidential candidate. During his recent campaigning in Iowa, Obama gave a concise answer when asked who his most important rival in the campaign is: "I would say it's cynicism." According to The Des Moines Register, "That was greeted with loud applause from the overflow crowd." Then again, if cynicism is Obama's most important rival, then pundits like Dowd now qualify as the competition.
i thought we stopped calling attacks by women "catty" in the 90s? MMFA should post "boehlert smears dowd column as 'catty attack'" dowd is a female supremacist and wants clinton to win.
She does it with style and is entertaining but if you want substance Dowd is NEVER a reasonable choice. I truly believe that Dowds major consideration of whether to write a supporting or opposing column is simply which can she write better.
Flag this comment * Dowd I realize Dowd has been quite critical of the Bush White House, but just because she smears Republicans and Democrats alike, that doesn't mean her approach to journalism is right.
Flag this comment + I also enjoy her colums I even have her book. However I dont fool myself that she is going to say anything useful. Its the kind of entertainment I also find in the funnies.
Flag this comment * Sex Counts One only need compare Dowd's professional photo with her real life visage on television to see that the real Dowd is a mess of contradictions. I mean, "spring chicken" does not come to mind when she shows her true profile. itchy whining and carping confirms the belief that all human beings need sex -- at least once a year, perhaps more often. That is a goal to which Ms Dowd should aspire and to which the NYT should kick in a few bucks.
Flag this comment + Now that's a catty sexist comment We have a winner here! Maureen Dowd is snarky, opinionated, and her columns are not based on fact- as was well documented here. The danger is that her poison pen does have an inordinate influence on how candidates are viewed. If she were placed in a gossip column- rather than the editorial page of the NYT- that would be better suited to her kind of writing. Yes politicians are "fair game"- but give us some kind of substantive proof that informs an opinion. Or just say I'm making th...
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