A journalistic footjob
In the age of declining readership and sharp media scrutiny, no one could really fault the old Star and Sickle for straining to hook the Fair and Balanced crowd. Still, would it hurt the paper's credibility to be even slightly critical of our daffiest congressional member? Kim Ode's "impossibly gleaming" (her words to describe our nation's Capitol) piece on Bachmann was headlined "Watching Her Step," something that apparently applies to subject and author as well. Setting the equal rights movement back 40 years, Ode regurgitates Bachmann's election victory vow to "hit the ground running, even in high heels" in the lead, before moving on to recount "exactly what [Bachmann] was wearing when she decided that she no longer was a Democrat."
Fashionista issues aside, the puff piece glosses over Bachmann's actions that led to "harsh headlines" when she first arrived in Washington, in particular her claim to know of a top-secret Iranian plan to "partition" Iraq and her failed make-out session with the Commander-in-Chief after his State of the Union address. It also repeats the dubious claim that "Bachmann's political career began almost by chance" when she ran for state senator, a myth that many have debunked, and that her Republican opponent Gary Laidig—who is not quoted in the piece—has previously deemed "absolute bullshit."
But the most striking trait of the story is an apparent foot fetish on someone's part. In telling of Bachmann's routine of walking the Capitol Mall early mornings, Ode writes of Bachmann's "sneakers" and the congresswoman's decision to put "aside her favored kitten-heeled slides for clunky orthopedic sandals" after bunion surgery on both feet.
And therein lies the unintentional scoop: Even with a couple of swollen tootsies, Bachmann has still been able to firmly insert her foot into her mouth.
5 comment(s) / Post a Comment
