Does Our Looks-Obsessed Culture Want to Stare at an Aging Woman? (Rush)

RushKimbaugh.com via Drudge Report ^ | Dec 17, 2007 | Rush Limbaugh

[RDTF]

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: Now, this theory of mine based on this Drudge picture of Mrs. Clinton, with the headline: "The Toll of a Campaign." Now, it could well be that that's a sympathy photo, too, to make people feel sorry for how tough the campaign trail is. Now, I want to preface this by saying I know it's going to get out there. Media Matters is going to get hold of this and they're going to take it all out of context. We can expect that. It's a badge of honor when this happens, but for the rest of you, I want you to understand that I am talking about the evolution of American culture here, and not so much Mrs. Clinton. It could be anybody, and it is really not very complicated. Americans are addicted to physical perfection, thanks to Hollywood and thanks to television. We know it because we see it. We see everybody and their uncle in gyms. We see people starving themselves. We see people taking every miracle fad drug there is to lose weight. We see guys trying to get six-pack abs. We have women starving themselves trying to get into size zero and size one clothes; makeovers, facials, plastic surgery, everybody in the world does Botox, and this affects men, too. As you know, the haughty John Kerry Botoxed his wrinkles out during the campaign.

There is this thing in this country that, as you age -- and this is particularly, you know, women are hardest hit on this, and particularly in Hollywood -- America loses interest in you, and we know this is true because we constantly hear from aging actresses, who lament that they can't get decent roles anymore, other than in supporting roles that will not lead to any direct impact, yay or nay, in the box office. While Hollywood box-office receipts may be stagnant, none of that changes the fact that this is a country obsessed with appearance. It's a country obsessed with looks. The number of people in public life who appear on television or on the big screen, who are content to be who they are, you can probably count on one hand. Everybody's trying to make themselves look different -- and in that situation, in that case, they think they're making themselves look better. It's just the way our culture has evolved. It's the way the country is. It's like almost an addiction that some people have to what I call the perfection that Hollywood presents of successful, beautiful, fun-loving people. So the question is this: Will this country want to actually watch a woman get older before their eyes on a daily basis?

-snip-

[Eroteme]

Such a spot-on analysis. Just excellent.

For those who can’t be bothered to interest themselves in politics long enough to find out what she stands for, it just might be the thing that sinks her.

[Revolting cat!]

Hildegarde 60? No effing way! Having been born in a Berlin bunker in late April or early May 1945, her mother’s last name Braun on her birth certificate, she’s now 62.

[modican]

.. Our Looks-Obsessed Culture..

You mean actually: look, OBESE Culture.
We might be look-obsessed, but the reality is, ugliness and fattiness is increasing drastic, and beauty and slender has become the step child and is attacked.

[Caramelgal]

Margaret Thatcher and Golda Meir were something less than glamorous but I would rate them above the vast majority of men in leadership roles. My dislike of Hillary has nothing to do with her appearance.

Margaret Thatcher never bothered me. Honestly, it’s not about the looks.

You are both right, it isn’t about the looks, or at least is shouldn’t be. It should be about belief and personal character and integrity.

I had the great honor of meeting Lady Thatcher (abet, very briefly) and hearing her speak in Baltimore in the late 90’s when she was speaking at an event sponsored by an organization that I was working for as a contractor. Lady Thatcher was as a formidable person in person as she appeared to be on TV. She wore her obvious age gracefully but not artificially. There was nothing artificial about her. She was beautiful to me because of her charm and wit and most of all her great intellect, experience in life and her inner strength.

Working for this same organization I also had the great privilege of meeting Madame Sadat and hearing her speak a few years ago. She spoke very bravely about supporting rights for women in the Middle East even as it is sometimes unpopular and dangerous in her country and she spoke about the dangers of the Islamic extremists who have twisted religion to hold people hostage in their own countries including her own and throughout the world. She spoke of her husband as a great man who gave his life trying to bring peace but more importantly to her, she spoke of him as a loving and understanding husband and father. She talked about her grandchildren and the great joy they bring to her. Even if I didn't agree with her on everything she said, I greatly admired her honesty and sincerity. She didn’t come across as making a “speech” but was she speaking from the heart – a real woman – something Hillary can’t do. Madame Sadat, an older woman, unafraid and unapologetic and embracing the joys of her age, was also beautiful woman because she had a great inner beauty and strength.

Hillary’s wrinkles and wide hips and love of dumpy pantsuits should not be an issue for any voter. Her big government ideas and neo-socialism should be the issue.

I agree with Rush in that our culture is youth and beauty obsessed for all the wrong reasons. And he should know given that he endured a lot of fat jokes over the years. A lot of liberals, instead of debating him on what he was actually saying, went down the low road and went straight for the fat jokes.

Personally I’m getting tired of the Helen Thomas picks. As she can’t help how she was made and her looks are not important to me. Her idiotic statements and views are fair game however.

And I’d like to think after an hour of hair styling and makeup and careful consideration of my wardrobe, I leave the house to go to work looking pretty good. I do try to look the best I can. But after a 12 hour and very hectic day that often doesn’t give me time for lunch live alone time to touch up my make up, I look all of my 47 years by the time I’ve given my employer a full day’s work and finally head for home. Fortunately I’m being paid to do a job that values my intelligence, experience and management skills and thankfully I’m not being paid to be a “super model” otherwise I’d starve to death.

When Brittany Spears made an appearance on MTV, it seemed that most people were more concerned about how out of shape she “looked” and how she had let herself go physically, rather than how she was obviously inebriated on something. Meaning it’s OK to be a drug addict as long as you can still look good while doing it.

Recently some young actress was photographed by the paparazzi on a beach with her fiancé and her butt showed some cellulite. The next day the tabloids were saying she was fat. She responded by saying something like “I’m a size 2. On what planet does that make me fat? I have some curves and I have some cellulite. Get over it. I’m human. If I were a size zero, it wouldn’t make me healthier or a better person”.

TV is filled with make over shows, most sadly aimed at women. The overriding message is “you can’t be happy unless you look younger and dress better”. There is no message about what constitutes inner beauty and intelligence and personally integrity. It’s all about the external appearance and nothing what so ever about the internal life.

In the end, I’d rather look like Margaret Thatcher (or even Hillary) on a bad day and be an intelligent and thoughtful woman than look like Miss South Carolina and be a complete empty air head.

[ari-freedom]

the problem is that Hillary is not an intelligent, thoughtful person and she sure doesn’t look like Miss South Carolina!

[Wil H]

What I like about that photo is that is that it screams out a caption at me....

“I coulda been a contender!”

[Dr. Scarpetta]

Hillary’s wrinkles and wide hips and love of dumpy pantsuits should not be an issue for any voter. Her big government ideas and neo-socialism should be the issue.

Exactly right! As much as I despise everything Hillary stands for, it's totally unfair for anyone to criticize her wrinkles. That will eventually happen to everyone, unless we go down the road of plastic surgery.

[jimbo123]

“Nature gives you the face you have at 20. Life shapes the face you have at 30. But at 50, you get the face you deserve.” - Coco Chanel

[marron]

Well said.

[Mustng959]

Here's a woman that I've had a crush on for over 30 years ... she turns 60 this coming May. The lovely Miss Stephanie Lynn Nicks

[linn37]

Exactly and for her age she looks normal.

[EDINVA]

The POTUS job is a natural ager .. look at W in 2001 v. today; look at anyone who served more than one term, especially. Throw in a bad world situation like we have now and anyone holding that office will age a LOT.

Romney, who seems to have hardly a gray hair now,if he were elected, would be fully gray/white after four years.

[Mamzelle]

Bad idea, Rush. You're reminding a lot of women how old Fred is and looks. The Britney Spears Mermaid Dress photo, for instance, doesn't just make Jerri look really young, it makes Fred look at least seventy.

You're also reminding folks of the three young, beautiful wives you couldn't make happy.

I've been suggesting for months that it is a bad idea to rag on a woman candidate for her looks. Women don't like to listen to a man rag on a woman's looks, even if they can't stand the woman. There is plenty of material on Hillary that doesn't have to do with how she looks.

Rush tries to preface his opinion with a lot of criticism of our "looks obsessed" culture, but he's really calling Hillary an ugly old hag.

And I think that was a bad move.

[PennsylvaniaMom]

Here is my two cents on Hillary's appearance.

First off, she is outside, in natural light (the harshest, right up there w/flourescent lighting). It is definitely cold dry air, the scarf is pushing up her jawline up, and I would guess Hillary is somewhat dehydrated (air travel also reeks havoc w/the skin). What normally would be minimal wrinkling just looks much worse. She appears to have not worshiped the sun in her youth...so she does have a nice complexion, and for 60 she looks good. She does.

That said, is this photo for sympathy? Maybe...but I hate commentary on Mrs. Clinton's appearance (or Helen Thomas' for that matter). People age (most can't help that, and those that do usually wind up looking silly). Its the message and positions that Hillary takes that she should be called out on...not her crow's feet. Rush should know better.

[kellynla]

Hillary Clinton’s problems reach a lot deeper than her complexion.

She & her draft-dodging criminal husband have more baggage than Delta Airlines.

But I will leave her final judgment to our Lord.

We can only hope that the electorate is a whole hell of a lot smarter next year than they were in 1992! But just to make sure that she isn’t elected POTUS, in the meantime, I will remind Americans of every transgression of her & her husband’s.

Semper Fi,
Kelly

[harpo11]

Most women and men who age, could wish to age with grace and hopefully the richness and beauty of their lives would also be reflected and glow from their face.

As I view this picture of Mrs. Clinton, I see the face of a very unhappy, fanatically driven, power hungry, conniving and calculating person.

I don't know if she is looking for sympathy and pity, and I don't know why this particular image of her has been posted on the Drudge Report. But, certainly it shows the cost of her manical illusions of grandeur.

[buffyt]

I have never seen Hildabeast look so bad. She is usually all made up, hair done, nice clothes though sometimes crusty pantsuits. I wonder how they caught her in this moment, or is THIS THE REAL HILLARY?

[buffyt]

I think you NAILED it Harpo!!!!!!!!!!!!! There is no joy in her face. My son who is now 23 could pick out the democrats on TV with the sound off. He said they always look angry, tense, unhappy. She is their poster child. The Beast, that is Hillary, The Beast.

[mewzilla]

I don't care about her looks per se.

It's her beauty bills that amuse the Heck outta me :)

[phillyfanatic]

Rush better stop playing any card which would create sympathy for any Dem candidate. He and Sean have torn Hil a new one for months and now is on a bit to say Obama is being dissed. Oh poor Obama. What will happen when Obama beats Hil? Will Rush and Sean be able to criticize him or will PC efforts negate real analysis that Obama is simply an Empty Suit??