The Media Prefers Haircuts

Rudy bails
on the Iraq Study Group, and we get a collective yawn from the media. Even when
Rudy makes whiny excuses that have been debunked again and again, the media
says, so what?

John Edwards makes a stupid mistake on a haircut, then cops to it, but we still haven’t heard the end of it.

But while the Politico made no mention of the Giuliani-ISG story in any article, a June 20 article by Allen and senior political writer Ben Smith once again revisited the effects Edwards’ haircuts are allegedly having on his campaign. Allen and Smith wrote: Asked by MSNBC’s Chris Matthews why the Democratic Party is having such a hard time connecting with the American people, Edwards shot back with a big smile: “Well, this Democrat’s not having trouble connecting with the American people, I can tell you that!” In fact, though, his campaign has many worries. For starters, Edwards has never really gotten over the scalding publicity for what Republicans and his Democratic opponents call “the three h’s” — the haircut that cost $400, his huge house and his lucrative involvement with a hedge fund. As Media Matters noted, Smith “broke” the Edwards haircut story in an April 16 blog entry, and the story was immediately seized upon by the media. Blogger Glenn Greenwald wrote that The Politico appeared to have an “obsession” with the story, noting that the publication referenced Edwards’ haircuts at least eight times between April 16 and May 3, while eschewing other political news stories “of even marginal significance.” … .. Politico largely ignored Giuliani-ISG story, still flogging Edwards’ haircuts

Fox “News” is making smearing Edwards a prime goal in their programming wheel. O’Reilly never misses a moment.

I think Brian Williams is a versatile anchor who can be hilariously entertaining, especially when paired with Jon Stewart, but going after Edwards on the haircut is the height of hypocrisy for the Vogue man.

Let’s also remember the disgraceful performance of Joe Scarborough and Anna Marie Cox, now of Time, as they laughed at Bill Clinton’s clothes, making fun of people who buy their clothes off the rack; you know, the entire middle class.

COX: … ..But this is certainly quite an astonishing portrait. I looked at it, and I thought—well, I had two thoughts. One is, how much did he pay for that suit? Because the whole thing is very Men‘s Wearhouse, kind of like the whole JC Penney catalog. SCARBOROUGH: It‘s off the rack. COX: Yes, totally off the rack. And then speaking of racks, you know, he has this sort of gaze into the middle distance. You kind of wonder what it is he‘s looking at. And then there‘s that finger in the belt loop, which you referenced. SCARBOROUGH: What‘s that about? Yes, what‘s that about? COX: Well, it‘s unsavory, I think. You know, as some people have mentioned, like, it looks like he‘s throwing a gang sign. Some people thought maybe he‘s pointing at something. I kind of think maybe he‘s looking for a quick-release catch. What do you think? … .. “Average Joe” Republican Elites

So in honor of Edwards continuing to fend off the media, while offering up progressive ideas and serious
discussion — the only one to do so on poverty and the Katrina victims — even though no one wants to cover it, I offer the clip above from his performance before AFSCME yesterday. He’s got a tough slog ahead, because Clinton just isn’t making any mistakes at all and now she’s got her political legs under her and feels what’s building for her. As for Obama, his kumbaya goes on as he convinces more voters. Edwards’ situation also proves Al Gore’s point. The media makes the campaign what it is by covering what they want and ignoring the rest. It’s particularly galling when Rudy gets a pass on much more serious issues.

I said this yesterday, but I’m going to say it again. If Rudy continues to
get a pass on serious failings like bailing on the Iraq Study Group, as well
as what he didn’t do before and on 9/11, if he’s the nominee we’re
going to be in real trouble. The evidence against Rudy over 9/11 is real. As for the ISG, remember, Rudy was told to either show up at the
ISG meetings or quit. He quit. Now he’s
trying to weasel his way out of it, just making stuff up as the issue widens
and his excuses unravel.

Republican presidential contender Rudy Giuliani, whose tough talk on terrorism is the centerpiece of his campaign, said Wednesday that it was a mistake to join a bipartisan Iraq Study Group, which he later quit. “I thought it would work, but then after a month or two I realized the idea that I was possibly going to run for president would be inconsistent with that,” he said. The former New York City mayor said the main reason he quit was that it “didn’t seem that I would really be able to keep the thing focused on a bipartisan, nonpolitical resolution.” …

TPM and Greg Sargent have been all over this one. Rudy’s
explanation doesn’t wash.

It’s never to early too debunk a myth.