Nets Bury Eliz Edwards' 'Behaves Like a Man' Hillary Swipe; John Goes Patton

NewsBusters ^ | Mark Finkelstein

[governsleastgovernsbest]

Quick -- which is Hillary Clinton's bigger liability as a candidate?:

A. she's an insufficiently ardent feminist; or
B. her personality is cold, calculating and unfeminine.

If you've been living on Planet Earth since 1992, surely your answer is 'B.' So when Elizabeth Edwards adds fuel to that fire, accusing Hillary of behaving like a man, that is very newsworthy stuff. Unless you're NBC or ABC, that is.

"Today" and "Good Morning America" ran segments this morning on Mrs. Edwards' recent interview with Salon.com in which she made comments critical of Hillary. The networks focused on Elizabeth's relatively benign comment:

She's just not as vocal a women's advocate as I want to see. John is.

But both shows airbrushed out the more controversial line that immediately preceded it:

I'm sympathetic, because when I worked as a lawyer, I was the only woman in these rooms, too, and you want to reassure them you're as good as a man. And sometimes you feel you have to behave as a man and not talk about women's issues.

For a Hillary Clinton who struggles to portray herself as someone possesssing the milk of human kindness, Elizabeth's suggestion that she behaves like a man is an unkind cut, indeed.

So, why did ABC and NBC omit Elizabeth's nasty shot? I'd say it could spring from a desire to protect both candidates. To have highlighted Edwards' below-the-belt blow could have reflected poorly on Edwards herself and by extension on her husband. And relaying the line could obviously have damaged Hillary too, reconfirming an already entrenched, and unflattering, image.

BONUS COVERAGE - JOHN EDWARDS AS GEORGE PATTON: There was some unintentional humor in the "Today" piece, as the NBC show rolled a clip from a new Edwards campaign ad. Elizabeth is shown saying "it's unbelievably important that in our president we have someone who can stare the worst in the face and not blink." Cut to a shot [above] of a resolute-looking John standing in front of a large flag, doing his best George Patton imitation. Wonder what that "worst" was at which John was staring-and-not-blinking? Could this become Edwards Dukakis-in-a-tank moment? The ad seems ripe for some creative YouTube-ing.

View video of John-as-George ad here.

Contact Mark at mark@gunhill.net

[governsleastgovernsbest]

Edwards ping to Today show list.

[shadeaud]

Who pays more for their haircut the Breck gurl or his gung ho wife.

[silverleaf]

Liz has just given Hillary a new campaign song-

“Walk Like a Man”

[blam]

What a waste of money.

Hillary does have more balls than Edwards.

[TexasCajun]

I saw this and was hoping NewsBusters would report this.

Bias, I don't see not stink'n bias! /sarcasm

Larry Flint should offer a million dollars for a picture of Hillary in a dress!

[Don Corleone]

NBC, CBS, ABC....just doing the work AMERICANS won’t do.

[WarEagle]

And you can hear them clinking together when she walks.

[gridlock]

The “DWA” behind Edwards should say “DWE...”, because the final “EB” in “DWEEB” has been cropped out of the frame.

[jennyjenny]

"....look the worst in the eye and not blink."

[AU72]

Cue Henry Higgins, “Why Can’t a Woman be More Like a Man?”

[governsleastgovernsbest]

LOL: well done!

[RonDog]

http://newsbusters.org/static/2007/07/2007-07-18NBCTSEdwards.wmv

[Biblebelter]

How would Elizabeth Edwards understand what a man behaves like? She is not married to one, is she?

[Lewite]

Something I have noticed is that a lot of pretty boys have wives like Edwards, not in the least feminine or pretty. Is this some kind of a beard or do pretty boys not like pretty girls. Maybe the competition is not wanted, who knows.

[riverdawg]

“... do pretty boys not like pretty girls[?]”

Maybe pretty girls don’t like “pretty boys.” At least that’s how I explain mrs. riverdawg’s attraction to me!

[TexasCajun]

You would think it is Liz that is running for President and Little Johnny is her “Trophy Husband”!

[billhilly]

Hopefully someone will post the cover picture of Hillary on Spy Magazine, January or February 1994. It shows her in a very manly pose.

[Stayfree]

With thighs as big as whiskey barrels, imagine how big her ankles must be to support all that cellulite...she probably can’t wear a dress because nobody makes pantyhose big enough for her.

[billhilly]

http://cgi.ebay.com/SPY-Magazine-Oct-1995-HILLARY-CLINTON-with-SCHLONG_W0QQitemZ330147555394QQihZ014QQcategoryZ280QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Scroll down page to see Cover of Magazine.