One and The Same

On Saturday, I wrote that I didn't see much difference between Ann Coulter calling John Edwards a "faggot" and Maureen Dowd feminizing Barack Obama. I discussed this with my friend J, who feels that there is a difference in that "Dowd thinks she's being cute and funny." J's implication is that there is no intent on Dowd's part to harm the candidate. She's just a comedian! I bet Coulter thinks she's being cute and funny, too. I know she's trying to harm the objects of her ridicule and slurs. But do I think one of these women is more harmful than the other?

Not really. Dowd's slurs are just more genteel. In some ways, I could argue that Dowd is more harmful. You will never ever hear Chris Matthews call John Edwards a "faggot." But is it inconceivable that you could hear him call Barack Obama "Obambi?" You tell me.

In any case, it turns out that Bob Somerby is with me on this, and I urge you to read his near-encyclopedic account of Dowd's destructive, sexist, queen bee tendencies.

I want to like Maureen Dowd. I really do. She appears to be someone who had to swim against the tide of both her wingnut family and a real boys club of a media establishment. But she just makes it too damn hard.