Winter Break CE WK #1: “New era, new kind of scandal”
It always seems like fun at the time. Then the photo surfaces.
Two guys, some beer and a cardboard cutout of Hillary Clinton have created fresh grief for the young and uninitiated to Washington Rules.
In the latest blog scandal-ette, Jon Favreau, a Holy Cross valedictorian and 27-year-old wunderkind speechwriter for Barack Obama, was captured clutching the prospective secretary of state’s, um, pectoral area, while a fellow reveler, wearing an “Obama Staff” T-shirt, nuzzles Clinton’s ear and holds a beer bottle to her smiling lips.
The photo popped up on Facebook for a couple of hours before being removed … too late. The moment was captured and the rest was instant and persistent history. On the Information Highway, alas, roadkill is never really dead.
One day, Favreau was the golden boy of silken tongue. The next, he was just another dimwitted dude acting dumb.
Feminists groups such as NOW and the New Agenda are outraged that Clinton – or at least her image – is being treated disrespectfully by the boys. Conservatives are outraged that there’s not enough outrage, as would be the case were the party boys Republicans.
An attorney wrote on the Feminist Law Professors blog that Favreau should not be excused for “youthful indiscretion” and questioned Obama’s judgment “in continuing to rely professionally on someone so young and irresponsible and offensively sexist.”
FitzWalter, quickly, my smelling salts! Oh, and dust off the guillotine while you’re at it.
Only Hillary Clinton has made light of the “incident,” hereinafter known as Night of BBB (Boys Being Boys). In an e-mail to the Washington Post’s Al Kamen, a Clinton adviser wrote: “Senator Clinton is pleased to learn of Jon’s obvious interest in the State Department, and is currently reviewing his application.”
Hear, hear. Nipping nonsense in the bud is an essential skill for a secretary of state, and Clinton used her shears deftly. If anyone recognizes a little harmless male sport, it would be the bride of President “Is.” One thing is harmful; another thing isn’t.
Nevertheless, Clinton’s response has fallen short of what some deem appropriate. CNN’s Campbell Brown charged Clinton with forfeiting her feminist cred, especially after issuing her own charges of sexism throughout the presidential campaign. Now that Clinton’s a member of the Obama team, she suddenly has a sense of humor?
All of the above would be nonsense except that almost nothing any longer is. Nonsense is the new standard for controversy; and even party shenanigans qualify.
Puritans and prohibitionists would adore our brave new world of shutterbug infamy. The fact is, no one’s having fun anymore, especially in the nation’s capital, where one can’t afford to let the tongue slip or risk being caught in the crosshairs of a cell camera.
Political veterans have learned, sometimes the hard way. This new generation – the Obama cohort – needs to review the Rules. Smart grown-ups in Washington don’t get drunk in public. A glass of wine is a prop that rarely gets drained.
At a small, private dinner recently, where wine flowed freely (and no one took pictures), conversation turned to the day when politicos and others routinely enjoyed three-martini lunches. How did they do that? Not just the drinking, but the escape from scrutiny?
It was all about time. In low-tech America, people had time to sober up. There was no e-mail light blinking to demand your immediate attention, no 24/7 news producers demanding instant responses to urgent claims and counterclaims. Several hours – or even a few days – could pass before anyone had to Do Something.
For all the gratification and convenience of real-time everything, downtime was underappreciated while it lasted. Even 10 years ago, BBB would have been vaguely recalled over Bloody Marys – and quickly forgotten. Now young men goofing around are immortalized as misogynist maulers, portentous reminders to the rest of us that the gender wars won’t end until irreverence and humor are dead.
In the meantime, feminists might channel their free-ranging anger toward, say, Iran, where yet another woman recently was sentenced to death by stoning for adultery.
And Facebookers might heed the saloon owner’s orders: Check your weapons at the door. Cameras are lethal.
This article is definitely a sign of the times. People can’t do anything remotely scandalous these days without a photo popping up on MySpace or Facebook or a video appearing on You Tube. If you are somebody…you can’t afford to be caught doing something that could jeopardize your career.
I am in no way excusing what these boys did, but guess what…they were probably drunk when the photo was taken. They weren’t thinking clearly and did something stupid and what they thought was humorous. Unfortunately the photo ended up on Facebook for the world to see and now they are neck high in the scandal. It is sad because this one mistake probably ruined these boy’s reputations and even careers.
The interesting part is Hillary Clinton’s response. She seems to be brushing it off and not letting it offend her which is exactly what she should be doing. If politicians whined and cried about every mark made against them, we wouldn’t be able to keep track of them all. It is probably in Hillary’s best interest not to make a big deal out of the scandal considering she is soon to be Barack Obama’s secretary of state. Any scandal surrounding her would reflect on Obama. While I’m sure it was slightly embarrassing to see a picture of herself being used for drunk entertainment, she didn’t let it get the best of her. As far as feminists go, it is a natural response to be outraged. However, feminist groups can’t control Hillary Clinton’s emotions, so there is no sense in telling her she should be more outraged.
Connection: High Tec-Politics. This article is a perfect example of how fast news travels. Something happens one moment and the next it is on the news or online. Technology these days feeds the fire for scandals.
I think that brushing this off is exactly what Hillary Clinton should be doing. The feminist uproar is the misplaced reaction. I hold a lot of feminist ideals, but even I know where their goals should end. If they want to stop men from being pigs, then they’re only going to find disappointment. That is not something I believe will ever change: it’s inherent in the system. I definitely think that feminists who freak out over stuff like this should be focusing on important things like human and civil rights. Courtesy is not something over which they should go to war. As for this Favreau character, he should get a slap on the wrists and be called a moron. He’s not embezzling or lying or cheating. He’s just being a drunk twenty-something idiot. And since when did speechwriters have to be the model of morality? Take a look at writers in general: half of famous writers were amoral people. They called it art. Rhetoric does not stem from morality. It comes from being a smooth talker. In my opinion, when this kind of scandal is played up, the more vile things are being ignored. It’s not conspiracy theory that bad things are going down in our Capitol. It’s just fact. Let’s pay attention to more worthwhile things; let’s not play up idiocy for idiocy’s sake.
Connection: Yellow Journalism makes a comeback with crap like this hitting the front page. The fact of the matter is “who cares?” Yet a wannabe scandal like this makes headline news because people love a good, juicy scandal. It’s the national gossip, and it’s a shame.
I think that it is so stupid that this guy is getting so much crap over a stupid picture. People are calling him a sexist. I don’t really see how this stupid picture is making this guy a sexist. He isn’t being unfair to women, and he’s hardly demeaning them. It’s a stupid cardboard cutout for crying out loud. So he got a little drunk and took some stupid pictures. He wasn’t doing anything wrong. He’s well over the legal drinking age, and who really cares, except for some radical feminists? He shouldn’t be punished for a dumb photo that was on Facebook. I guess this taught us a valuable lesson about politics; you aren’t allowed to have any fun, and you can’t make one little stupid mistake. I think that people are blowing this way out of proportion. The only person who seems to realize that this isn’t really such a big deal is Hillary Clinton, whose picture was the cardboard cutout. This guy is obviously smart if he’s only 27, and he is a speech writer for the president elect. Is it really right that this guy’s career gets messed up because of one night of drinking? Does this country really not believe in second chances at all? Apparently not.
Connection: The media’s role in politics. This picture was barely up on Facebook, but within those few hours the media found it and pounced upon it. The media really is everywhere in politics, and they look for scandals, or things that they can make into scandals.
It is certainly no surprise that something like this emerged. In this day and age, any action can be manipulated into being a scandal. Politicians, or anyone with careers that involve having “enemies” and “allies”, must think their actions through. They must be quick thinkers and know when and how to act. I am in no way defending Favreau and his comrade. Their actions were distasteful and disrespectful. However, this event is a good example of how one misstep can lead to devastation – in this case, ruining a reputation and perhaps a career.
I find the Conservative response interesting. They are not outraged because of the actual “scandal”. No, they are condemning this act because the Democrats are not “angry” enough, as they would be if Favreau was a Republican. I think party loyalties should be cast aside in this case. This act was demeaning Hillary Clinton personally. The Conservatives should be ashamed not at the Democrats’ response, but that a fellow politician acted disrespectfully and stupidly.
My question is WHY Favreau would post this on the Internet. I don’t know if it was his actual profile, but if it was, that is a prime example of not thinking things through. He must know that he would be in the spotlight – this was an historical election. Foolish actions could not remain hidden.
Connection: class discussion
This is a great example of the nature of politics. As Mr. Kautzman stated in class, it can often be brutal. One misstep or misjudgment can result in a career and years of hard work being destroyed. An even better known example of this, one that we discussed in class, is the recent scandal involving Governor Blagojevich. His actions have resulted in his career being in jeopardy.
In response to Alena Schoonmaker:
I do not agree with you. Though there are more “important” matters, of course, Hillary Clinton WAS disrespected. If anything, she should be scolding Favreau even more. This event does not necessarily have to be exaggerated by the media – I agree with you about yellow journalism; however, this act was NOT alright.
I do agree with you in one respect, though. It seems to me that though feminist ideals ARE important, they lose sight of other things sometimes. It is the same with other groups. For example, the “Obama’s Abortion Conundrum” talks about the Pro-Choice group. They wrote a policy paper that makes some ridiculous pleas.
In response to Claire:
I agree this was blown way out of proportion. I mean seriously everyone bashing this guy is a hypocrite. You can not honestly and openly say you haven’t said or down something in your life that was wrong and stupid. I’m sure these guys will regret it for the rest of their lives. Everyone messes up at one point or another it is what makes people human if we were all perfect we would be robots. Since media has been readily available to the general public people have been attracted to the odd, disturbing and others stupidity. This is one of those stupid moments everyone is amused by.
I don’t see why people are freaking out over this. It was just bad judgment mixed with a bad joke. Hilary Clinton should just brush it off it is not like she sold off her senate seat or had an affair with a white house intern. This was more or less a prank gone wrong. It seems that the Republicans were freaking out just to freak out about the whole thing because the two guys happened to be Republican. They can’t really get dragged down any lower after what the last eight years have done to their image.