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When Anthony Weiner was suspected of--and then confessed to--tweeting his penis (a phrase which really has no business existing in the English language), CNN couldn't get enough of it. They had daily updates on how "some in Congress" were demanding that he resign and about how "even his own party" was asking for his resignation. This went on day after day, often as the lead story with with the obligatory unflattering photo of Weiner standing in front of a camera being asked about the infamous tweet. To me it appeared that this titillating story about a harmless and LEGAL act of stupidity by easily one of the best congressmen in the House, rose to the level of obsession for the gargantuan "news" agency. And of course, as CNN goes, so goes the rest of what passes for media in this country.
Now, fast forward a couple of weeks to the day on which easily one of the stupidest and most linguistically challenged congresswomen in that same House, announces her bid for president by equating herself with a notorious serial killer. Michelle Bachmann apparently didn't realize that she shared a hometown with John Wayne Gacy, and not with Marion Morrison, aka John Wayne, aka The Duke, famous stetson-wearing film cowboy, and he of the most engaging drawl in the English language--the language that Ms. Bachmann can't seem to master.
Ms. Bachmann's defenders (a heavy load to shoulder, indeed) will, I'm sure, point out that it was an easy mistake. After all, she only had HER WHOLE LIFE to educate herself about the difference between the two similarly-named men. One hailed from nearby Winterset, Iowa, and spent his film career entertaining audiences with his portrayal of manly men doing manly things on horses, in saloons, and in World War II combat, being held up as a role model for young men with his tales of heroism and epic cowboyness. The other John Wayne, the one who can be distinguished from the film star by the prominent "Gacy" at the end of his name, didn't so much entertain young men with heroism so much as rape and kill them.
So, yeah, it's an easy mistake. For instance, I too share a hometown with a famous Hollywood movie star. But wouldn't it be confusing for me if it turned out that after forty-seven years of believing that I hailed from the same town as a chick flick hearththrob, Matthew McConaughey GACY turned out to be a serial rapist and murderer. I'm sure you'd all understand.
CNN apparently understands. On the day that Michelle Bachmann made this perfectly understandable error, there was not a peep--nor a tweet--about it on their front page. They did, to their dubious credit, print a short blurb about it in their "Ticker," helpfully pointing out that Marion Morrison's parents DID live in Waterloo for a few years. So...you know...there.
But the larger story about Bachmann which ran on the front page of the CNN website, accompanied by a professional campaign photo, was not about Bachmann's "gaffe". No, it was a fluff piece posing the ever-so-pressing question, "Is Michelle Bachmann an evangelical feminist?" Oxymoron, anyone?
The article begins by comparing the congresswoman to Hilary Clinton...HILARY CLINTON!!!! A woman whose feminist credibility is as well-established as her intelligence, even if she is a lawyer. I'm sure the temptation to compare the two women was strong for an organization that, to provide themselves with some feminist gravitas, holds up none-other than that iconic bra-burner, Amber Lyon. (No offense intended to Ms. Lyon. She is perfectly acceptable eye-candy for those neanderthal channel-surfers who can't afford REAL porn. And unlike Ms. Bachmann, she can at least read.) But let me go on record here...Besides a few generally anatomical similarities, all decidedly south of the brain, Hilary Clinton and Michelle Bachmann have nothing in common. Nothing.
The fluff piece goes on to try to answer the question, "Is Michelle Bachman an evangelical feminist?" I think a more interesting question might be, "Where the hell does CNN get off asking stupid questions like that?" Michelle Bachmann is no more a feminist than I am a pine cone.
But I digress. My point in all of this is that CNN has, in these two emblematic stories, defined itself with blinding clarity: A democrat tweets his penis and gets drummed out of the U.S. Congress. A right-wing moron confuses a famous cowboy with a serial rapist and murderer, and she gets held up as an example for bible-thumping bra-burners to emulate. The next time anyone tries to convince me that CNN is "liberal media," I think I'll throw up.
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