Washington Post’s Saslow Trivializes Obscene, Sexist Treatment of Hillary Clinton

One of the reasons I left the Democratic Party last summer was the culture of misogyny that revealed itself in the unholy alliance of the party’s leaders and the media during a primary that culminated in a convention rigged to anoint Barack Obama as nominee for the presidency.

Even Howard Dean has since acknowledged the abusive treatment endured by first Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primary and later Sarah Palin in the general election.

And yet – and yet – just this morning I turn to the Washington Post and read Eli Saslow’s saccharine paean to Obama speechwriter Jon Favreau who recently exposed his own depravity and that of his buddies in a photo first published on Facebook. The photo shows Favreau groping the cardboard former first lady’s breast while a buddy pours beer down her throat.

Here’s how Saslow cleverly dismisses the young Favreau’s behavior:

‘“Now, he {Favreau} has transformed into what one friend called a ‘Washington political force’ -- a minor celebrity with a down payment on a Dupont Circle condo, whose silly Facebook photos with a Hillary Rodham Clinton cutout created what passes for controversy in Obama's so far drama-free transition.”’

Saslow’s noxious attempt to brush Favreau’s misconduct aside doesn’t change the seriousness of the issue that continues to hang over the 2008 presidential election. Civilized, informed Americans are well aware that our nation sets the example on human rights for the rest of the world.

When America’s rampant misogyny, illustrated by a photo of punk Favreau’s disrespectful treatment of our newly named secretary of state, is rocketed around the worldwide Web, we are effectively condoning the abusive treatment of women in other cultures exemplified recently by a news report featuring a 13-year-old Somali girl. The child was brutally raped by three men on her way to visit her grandmother. She turned to the authorities for help and was instead charged with adultery and publicly stoned to death.

The good news regarding Saslow’s typically fawning coverage of anything related to the Obama team is that a good many readers took the time to protest. Below is nikital’s comment that has already been recommended by 10 readers:

nikita1 wrote:
“What the reporter described as an awkward pose was actually Favreau acting out events that often precipitate date rape. His hands is groping her breast. Another is around her neck. And the other man in the photo is pouring beer down her throat. Readers should substitute U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton's face with one of their daughter, wife, sister, or mother. The Washington Post has done a great disservice to its readers by assisting in the effort to rehabilitate the image of a person who is not fit to serve in the White House.
12/18/2008 8:53:52 AM
Recommended (10)”

Another Washington Post reader, jandrejacques, also has no patience for Favreau’s obscene behavior and again several readers approve the comment:

“Favreau should be fired for that photo. It gives substance to a belief to anybody who has been watching that the Obamas are elitists and see several minority groups as inferior, and it will be a worm in the Obama structure that will consume it. More importantly, it gives any foreign entity that SoS-elect Clinton must deal with, reason to wonder if the Obama regime are truly respectful and supportive of Clinton. He has to be fired. Of course, 'zipperhead' Obama hasn't got a clue.
12/18/2008 8:33:24 AM
Recommended (10)”