An era when decency is out, vulgarities in
vantage point of the sewer.
I recall the 1996 Radio-Television Correspondents Association dinner. The main speaker was “shock jock” Don Imus. With President Bill Clinton and the first lady sitting there, Imus delivered a series of “jokes” about the president’s sexual behavior and Hillary Clinton’s legal troubles. While I am no fan of the Clintons, I thought the routine was in poor taste.
The next day I called press secretary Dee Dee Myers and asked her if she agreed, or was I simply old and out of touch. Myers agreed the Imus routine was tasteless.
Where were the feminist voices when Wolf made reference to Sarah Sanders’ “smoky eye” and called both she and Conway liars?
Do these correspondents not care what the public thinks of them? Do they have no concern for their low approval ratings and a credibility level that seems to be in free fall? Are they more interested in reinforcing their own political beliefs than projecting a public image of balanced reporting and professional integrity?
People watching the dinner or reading about it must have had their own views of the “liberal media” confirmed. Sanders and Conway should have walked out. I would have laughed if they had taken their water glasses and poured them on Wolf ’s head as they exited, but they have too much class for that.
Following the 1996 dinner, the head of the TV-Radio Correspondents Association wrote a letter of apology to the Clintons. It’s a pretty safe bet there will be no similar letter sent to Trump or Sanders and Conway. I think it can be safely said that most in the audience and on the dais agree with Wolf, perhaps not with the vulgarities, but certainly the liberal worldview she reflects.
Wolf will now likely crawl back under her rock and after her 15 minutes of fame once again become obscure and deservedly so.
If the White House Correspondents’ Dinner continues to embrace the low and the vulgar, it should end. As long as Trump is president, you can bet no one from the White House will ever attend again.