Just An Old Fashioned Rant - Jackass Jake Tapper genre: Polispeak & Six Degrees of Speculation

While surfing the internet, I noticed there was a debate underway as to whether a particular segment of Hillary Clinton's debate performance (see video clip below) was a "meltdown", a display of "shrill anger", or any other iteration intended to impart that she had come unhinged.

In following the discussion, I came across the observations of ABC's Jake Tapper on his blog, Political Punch. Here's Mr. Tapper's posting:

Hillary's Debate Moment

Jake Tapper

January 05, 2008 9:53 PM

It won't come across on the transcript, but Sen. Hillary Clinton got angry during the debate tonight.

She was bickering with Sen. Barack Obama about their differences on health insurance, and whether Obama's plan leaves millions of Americans uninsured.

And then she … well … she got angry.

Frankly, I don't even really understand what she was saying. What I was getting was how angry she is. Not about an issue, so much, as about the fact that Obama is beating her.

The clip, I predict, will be played again and again and again.

Pundits will say that her tone made male voters recoil. And led some female voters to sneer.

Clinton people are spinning this as her projecting strength. I do not think that will be the widely-head view.

HERE's THE VIDEO LINK [See the clip below], already posted by Clinton enemies and the debate isn't even over yet.

Tell me what you think.

-- jpt

UPDATE: She just had another weird moment, too, where she seemed to blame Natalie Sarkisyan's death on John Edwards' inability to get the Patients Bill of Rights passed in the House.

I should add that this angry Hillary Clinton is NOT one I've ever seen at the Senate, on the stump, or in interviews. But I feel her performance tonight, in contrast to Obama's coolness and Edwards' Southern drawl, feeds into stereotypes about her. She tried to address this by dismissing "likeability" as a factor -- that Americans in 2000 would have preferred to have a beer with George W. Bush than Al Gore, and look how that worked out. But still.

Video Clip Referenced Above:

I included the photo of Mr. Tapper in the quotation since it's relevant to my remarks below and since it appeared just to the left of his posting and drew my attention once I finished reading his observations on Hillary Clinton.

I posted the following comment...rife with sarcasm...on his blog in order to point out just how absurd I found his characterization of the entire situation.

I started to read this posting after having already watched the debate...when I suddenly noticed the smirk on the face of the author, Jake Tapper. I thought to myself, "Just what did I do to Mr. Tapper to deserve such a discounting scowl."

Needless to say, I instantly determined that Mr. Tapper is an antagonistic person without having any need to read his comments or know anything substantive about him.

I set aside my dismay and proceeded to watch the "incoherent rant" by Hillary Clinton. As I watched the clip, it suddenly made me realize that perhaps Mr. Tapper's picture was taken after he was forced to tune his wife out when she asked him to pick up his dirty clothes for the tenth time.

Hence, I realized I was clearly jumping to conclusions when assuming Mr. Tapper's "innocent" smirk was directed towards me. How presumptive of me! What was I thinking to draw such biased conclusions?

Sheesh, it just goes to show that these "angry women" will stop at nothing to upset us poor poor helpless men and turn us against each other...what nerve these "women" have! Don't they know their place?

Whew, I feel better now. I'm sure glad I was able to properly direct my passive aggressive animosities.

Sorry Jake, my bad!

First let me be clear...I'm not endorsing Senator Clinton nor have I decided I prefer her to be the Democratic nominee. However, in the interest of fairness...and given my own experiences with bullying and downright mean spirited individuals...I felt compelled to come to the Senator's defense.

For some time now I've remained silent while noticing the propensity of numerous pundits (primarily male but not exclusively) to assail each and every action of Senator Clinton...and to do so with a full regalia of pejorative aspersions. If she's assertive, she's shrill and angry...if she's demure, she's playing the gender card...and on and on. Well I've had enough.

Look, if someone dislikes Senator Clinton's politics, so be it since there's clearly nothing wrong with stating as much. However, the pattern of taking her every action and describing it in demeaning and derogatory terminology is disgusting, childish, and fully indicative of the gender bias long associated with the concept of the "good old boys" mentality.

Quite frankly Mr. Tapper, though you may be enamored and enabled by an awareness of your penis, your actions suggest you to be a pussy...and I realize in saying as much that I do a disservice to the genitalia of countless women who have long exhibited the deliberate decency and reasoned sensibility to forego trying to be a dick to every jackass man that thinks he's all that and a bag of chips.

Given your duality as both a dick and a pussy, may I suggest you go f#@k yourself.

Comments

1 On January 7, 2008 at 9:37 AM, rube cretin wrote —

daniel.. Thanks for the excellent analysis of this particular event. i noticed the exact same thing while watching the various TV pundits comment on the debate. many of the so called liberal blogs are engaged in the same tactics being practiced by Tapper and i find it shameful. i would be very interested in your analysis of how this particular tactic will be used against obama. He is benefiting from sexism now and acting as if he is above the whole thing, but i fear the same tactics of a racist nature will befall him should he be the nominee.

Thought Theater at Blogged

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