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According to Robin Givhan of the WaPo, Hillary Clinton is a woman. And...wait for it...as a result of being female, she has breasts which result in...gasp...cleavage. This may be a new low in infotainment non-reportage:
There was cleavage on display Wednesday afternoon on C-SPAN2. It belonged to Sen. Hillary Clinton.
She was talking on the Senate floor about the burdensome cost of higher education. She was wearing a rose-colored blazer over a black top. The neckline sat low on her chest and had a subtle V-shape. The cleavage registered after only a quick glance. No scrunch-faced scrutiny was necessary. There wasn't an unseemly amount of cleavage showing, but there it was. Undeniable.
It was startling to see that small acknowledgment of sexuality and femininity peeking out of the conservative -- aesthetically speaking -- environment of Congress. After all, it wasn't until the early '90s that women were even allowed to wear pants on the Senate floor. It was even more surprising to note that it was coming from Clinton, someone who has been so publicly ambivalent about style, image and the burdens of both.
Here are a few facts for Ms. Givhan, who claims to be a fashionista: (1) A v-neck shell or blouse is slenderizing, as any reader of In Style magazine or browser of People at the hairstylists could tell Ms. Givhan. (2) The photo above is of Sen. Clinton at at even on July 13th in New Hampshire where she is also wearing a v-neck shell under her blazer. It took me 3 minutes on a Yahoo search to find it -- so the cleavage thing? Not news. (3) Women have boobs, which result in cleavage, and sometimes we wear v-neck shirts because we like them, they are comfy on hot days and, frankly, they look nice. Millions of women wear them. Including me...right now.
Hello?!? Hillary is a woman. She has boobs. Which means she has cleavage. Just like every other woman in America who has boobs. Just like every woman reading this blog -- or any other woman who might be reading the WaPo. Get the hell over it. I find this sort of idiotic fluff crap offensive on the whole, but this one sinks to a new low of making a big deal of absolutely nothing.
Criminy. First the haircut bullshit and now this. What next: "This Just In: Rudy Guiliani Scratches Testicles In Public. News At 11"?
(H/T to reader JF for the story link. Photo credit to REUTERS/Lisa Hornak.)
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zed?
due
Mornin Christy, how are ya today?
HA HAA HAAAAAAAAAAA!!
His ex wife has those.
Ah, but perhaps having cleavage is a signal that you are not a serious person? Non-issue. Ms Givham also made much of Nancy Pelosi’s clothing when she became Speaker as well. Totally useless.
Well, what about girly Romney spending thousands on makeup? Where’s that shocking story?
Christy:
Robin Givhan has a reputation for writing this kind of stuff/fluff for the Style section of WaPo. Sometimes the writing is cute, and sometimes in bad taste, like this one.
“This Just In: Rudy Guiliani pulls up dress and Scratches Testicles In Public. News At 11″?
fixed.
TRex @ 4
Oh TRex. He’s an ex because he never had any, just a flair for being an exceptional *sshole.
OT ~ Daily Show: Bush’s Fuzzy al Qaeda Math
Though it is useful to point out these nonreports, I do question the usefulness of giving them this much critic. It seems to risk dignifying them too much.
andrew @ 11
I would agree with you on occasion, but I do think it’s okay to yell “b*llsh*t” when you are standing in it.
I always heard thats why they wouldn’t let Hillary wear short skirts at the Whitehouse,her balls would show.
that’s critique.
Glad she got this off her chest.
What next: “This Just In: Rudy Guiliani Scratches Testicles In Public. News At 11″?
Not to mention his armpits and the top of his head — now really who can truly dispute The Descent of Man ;)
Hey Kids,
Are you ready for martial law? We’ll BushCo is because they wouldn’t have pulled this blanket execpriv if their trap wasn’t set and ready. I’ve said since the 2000 fiasco that we need to be really careful about cornered rats with nukular weapons.
And I said way back then that they would be ready when the threat came. They want Congress to bust Harriet. It’s the height of their arrogance. Whatever these freaks have in mind Is Not Good.
A dictatorship is being declared and Cheney is the dick.
We’re gonna need a lot of Velvet really fast. Share your purple berries.
The time has come.
Is Robin Givhan the one who wrote the bizarre piece on Bill Frist, featuring gorilla testosterone, firm, hairy forearms, scrubs under suits and still-beating dog hearts?
Christy sez:
Millions of women wear them. Including me…right now.
Need pics.
I kid, I kid…. ;-p
Did you hear this? Right on the heals of iPod and iPhone, Apple announced a new product today called iTit. It is a breast enhancment product that has a built-in radio. Apple says it address the problem that woman rightly complain about: men look and their breasts but don’t listen to them.
Wonder if they attacked W for his codpiece during his “Mission Accomplished” stunt.
Any scuttlebutt on a doc dump today?
Neil @ 20
Great morning laugh. Thanks
This tidbit about Givhan:
She should have stuck with writing just about clothes. But then she won a Pulitzer in 2006 for turning fashion criticism into “cultural criticism” (whatever that might mean to the Pulitzer committee).
As we saw/heard during the Libby trial, every Tom and their cousin has a Pulitzer. They’re not what they used to be.
Christy, you really do rock! LOL!
Neil @ 20
LOL — now that’s “thinking different” ;)
GordonM @ 18
When I moved to Philly from SoCal, I was so happy that I could read that day’s WaPo by evening.
That was 1982.
Now I’m so happy I don’t read the WaPo.
blergh.
What’s next?
Bipeds have butt cheeks - news at eleven
uhh - forget I asked…
I’m a woman, and today I’m wearing a V-neck shirt. And, it’s pink.
Hey Robin Givhan — what does that mean??
On this post about biases, check this out: Project Implicit is a Harvard research website which allows individuals to assess for their inherent biases. Those things which we are SURE we are not biased towards or against - well, maybe not so much. You can assess your biases toward people of different races, sizes, beliefs, symbols - the list is quite extensive. All results go back to the research base and to you.
The point being that once you know your subconscious biases, you can more easily correct for them.
Christy asks:
What? Rudy has balls? I thought Judy took ‘em for “safekeeping.”
“We’re gonna need a lot of Velvet really fast. Share your purple berries.”
What?
Please clarify.
Hmmm. Well now we know what Tweety’s top story will be tonight.
Subway Serenade @ 17
Lessee … that makes George the ‘tater, right? So is it “Shrub” or “Spuds” now?
Please translate. Not getting reference.
brendancalling @ 31
Not sure about the Velvet, but I believe the purple berries refers to the song “Wooden Ships”
This just in - Rudy Giuliani has breasts!…
Top Diary at KOS, this is getting really serious:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/7/20/83134/7689
As for the last line of this, you’ll never see it. Rudy has no balls.
Subway: CSNY right
dakine01 @ 30
What? Rudy has balls? I thought Judy took ‘em for “safekeeping.”
I thought he handed them off so he could wear the sheerer dresses without those nagging bindings….
Read today that Olbermann is going to be host of a Democratic candidates forum next month. I hope this is the first question out of his mouth:
“Do you think our having had a boob in the White House, lo, these many years has helped pave the way for a President with two boobs?”
brendancalling @ 31
Here
Bustednuckles @ 22
I’ve heard that some Harry Potter documents are coming out late today.
OT - Bush to Have Colonoscopy at Camp David
“President Bush will undergo a routine colonoscopy Saturday and temporarily hand presidential powers over to Vice President Dick Cheney, the White House said.”
Um… TEMPORARILY??? When did he ever get them back?
In all fairness, Givhan also makes good enemies, so to speak. Michelle Malkin in 2005:
I do not wish to provide the link.
Hey robin,
my eyes are up here…
So I guess the Ruidy thing WOULD be news.
So, which boob does her thinking? Is she right boobed and therefore more of an abstract thinker or left boobed analytical? Does Bill’s stimulating, er, conversation help her think better?
OMG! Mitt Romney has a scrotum! In fact, ALL of the GOP candidates have scrotums. And prostates! And epidydimuses (sp)! But why get all technical? They’ve got nuts.
Not Balls,
Just nuts.
Was that $400.00 dollar cleavage ?
In related news, Al Gore loses weight! OMFG!! Does this mean he’s running for President?!?
Fer chrissakes…
Biodun at #44:
There was also one on Judith Miller going to jail.
Christy,
I have a slightly different take on this article…
From my comment downstairs:
“I suspect Hillary (and her people) knew, or suspected, the WaPo piece would come out. I also suspect that they are quite pleased with it, as well, after paragraphs like this:
“With Clinton, there was the sense that you were catching a surreptitious glimpse at something private. You were intruding — being a voyeur. Showing cleavage is a request to be engaged in a particular way. It doesn’t necessarily mean that a woman is asking to be objectified, but it does suggest a certain confidence and physical ease. It means that a woman is content being perceived as a sexual person in addition to being seen as someone who is intelligent, authoritative, witty and whatever else might define her personality. It also means that she feels that all those other characteristics are so apparent and undeniable, that they will not be overshadowed.”
Methinks the Post has just tipped its endorsement hat.”
Because this was in the Style section, the whole article can be taken with a grain of salt. On the other hand, it also starts to set Clinton apart from the “scorned wife” image she’s had to endure for decades. If she’s going to be a successful candidate, that image will have to be eradicated.
Hillary’s not naive-she wore that outfit for a reason.
Our MSM: Detailed stories about haircuts, fashion, make-up, etc.
Detailed stories about going to war, poverty, substantive differences among the candidates?Not so much.
What next: “This Just In: Rudy Guiliani Scratches Testicles In Public. News At 11″?
That should be: “This Just In: Chris Matthews Scratches Rudy Guiliani Testicles In Public, while performing . . . uhh — nevermind.”
LS @ 36
Paul Craig Roberts has been railing against the Bush Administration forever. He writes on counterpunch.org.
#34:
Original Jefferson Airplane version, from “Volunteers”.
I think Bill should start wearing pearls.
eCAHNomics @ 54
Yes. In the comments, there is a reference to a massive, nationwide protest next week, but it had too many links to post here.
cfeddy @ 32
lol, i was thinking the same thing … we should bet
do-si-do @ 45
LOL That’s a line from my favorite B movie ; )
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099832/
You guys see that breaking news that Cheney is to be President temporarily while Bush has a colonoscopy? I think it’s tomorrow.
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington seaks probe from Senate panel on David Vitter. Here’s the story: CREW files Ethics Complaint Against Senator David Vitter (R-LA)
What is it all about? Let’s cut to the chase:
Vitter explained: “this was a very serious sin in my past for which I am, of course, completely responsible.”
Yes, Mr. Vitter. It was a sin on multiple counts and it was illegal too. Aren’t you the guy that asserted Mr. Clinton consensual fellatio with Monica Lewinsky made Bill Clinton unfiit for office and in your opinion, was sufficiently egregious behavior to warrant impeachment? Yep.
About the ethics complaint:
newtonusr @ 41
I think i have it! “Let’s all do a lot of drugs”?
Liberal Heart @ 60
Quick, hide the red phone!
well no. unless they laud him for being manly. he’s a republican… duh!
Once upon a time, Dick Morris declared he found Hillary Clinton sexy. I believe she was First Lady at the time.
Pris Matthews will use the cleavage reporting to bash Senator Clinton for the rest of the year. Bring it on, Prissy.
BustedKnuckles @ 13, you can help Prissy out in case he has missed some Hillary smear or other.
“Her breasts quiverred with the modulation of her voice, and shimmered in light perspiration and the glow of the hot, hot media lights. She slowly moistened her lower lip with a sensuous lick, pausing between statistics.
“It was at this moment that I knew I wanted her — in that big house — not just for four years, but more and more and more and more….”
OK, Lynne Cheney, take your best shot at it…
Eureka Springs @ 63
Quick, get the h*ll out of Iran!
brendancalling @ 62
Had to be there, dude.
Givhan on Hillary might be in bad taste, but you have to give her this one on Cheney:
Nequals1 @ 29
I know I’m biased against
republicanscrooks and liars, don’t like them at all and I wouldn’t trust any of them.John Podesta on Ed Schultz radio show
In my view, the attorney general should be knocked out of office. He has lied to the congress and been a disgrace to the country.
Good job, Christy!
Now, let’s move on to the serious stuff. :o)
Preznit Bush is having a colonoscopy at Camp David. (No smileface BIG enough… :o) )
Ladies (In case Trent Lott is reading this, that would be those of you with boobs. :o) ) and gentlemen! Start your posting engines!
VarOOOOOOM!!! (Here I go! :o) )
I’m sure the proctologist will find that Mr. Bush is a perfect asshole.
Maybe he can also find 500 tons of missing WMD’s, and (If this happens, the Pope could declare a “miracle of Camp David!) what if the bearded one has actually been hiding up there all this time, instead of roughing it in Waziristan?
Q: What do you call a public interest group that files an ethics complaint about a Senator who illegaly solicited sex from prostitutes?
A: A watchdog group.
Thanks for the H/T Christy! Sorry I’m just now getting to this post. Work and all…
I have to wear a push up bra with a LOT of padding and extra cutlets to give the illusion of cleavage, but YAY for boobs and cleavage!!!
I LOVE being a woman!
Me: After that, Lynne’s breating too heavily to take a shot. :o)
Neil @ 72
Condomnationalists
Was Giulliana dressed in drag when he got caught scratching?
Maybe he wasn’t scraching…
Biodun @ 69
Can we get a photo of that?
BTW.
You can’t scratch what you ain’t got.
Givhan on Cheney, Part II:
But Givhan’s transformation from fashion to “cultural (even political) criticism” falls flat:
PatVa @ 43
film at 11. -uh- no, really… we already knew he was gutless…
I saw that picture of Hillary at the top of the Huffington Post yesterday. I didn’t notice any cleavage–being that a v-neck blouse is so damn ordinairy. I did, however, notice the color, and thought good for her, she is wearing bright pink. I would too if I looked as good in it as she does (being a full-on red head, pink is not one of my best looks).
“Bush to Have Colonoscopy at Camp David”
Better have a neurosurgeon in the O.R. when they hit grey matter with the scope!! :)
On the Police State. It happened a long time ago. Martial law is assured. We have a king.
On the boobs…I say, bring em on!
the chicago tribune devotes an EDITORIAL to john edwards’ haircut today. bet you can’t imagine what angle they take:
Editorial
About John Edwards’ hair
July 20, 2007
Democratic presidential contender John Edwards has launched a tour of impoverished American cities. We understand he’d rather that the press focused on that rather than on his hair.
But his hair just won’t stay out of the news.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/.....0216.story
OT: If you folks didn’t see John Young’s testimony on CSPAN 2 yesterday, it’s being replayed right now. It’s the MRAP hearing … I watched it in the middle of the night and found it very interesting when Young was being put on the hot seat re providing some real answers.
j.cro @ 79
Here.
in semi-defense of Givhan, I offer the following:
She did a great piece a couple of years ago about what an asshole cheney was for wearing a ski jacket at an outdoor Holocaust memorial event.
She’s not a political commentator per se, so this is not really comparable to someone like Maureen Doodoo, who does profess to be one, talking about Edwards’ haircut. She writes about people’s style choices — that’s what she DOES.
As someone who almost never wears anything with sleeves between the months of May and September and am (ahem) rather proud of my own “cleavage,” I am very far from critical of my sistren who display theirs. However, I do feel that a woman wearing a cleavage-showing outfit in a professional context is not entirely unworthy of comment.
In fact it is funny this came up today, because I was at a meeting this very morning with a very professionally attired woman whose cleavage showed, and it did give me some pause. I didn’t disapprove….I just thought it was interesting.
PatVa @ 43
Please, please, please let the anesthesia wear off early - so W can feel exactly what we’ve been feeling since he took/stole office.
Nequals1 @ 29
As an assessment wonk, familiar with this
Project/test, I can tell you it the results
and methodology are really specious at best.
What it tests is
1) short term recall of pairings,
2) learning interference
It doesn’t come anywhere near subtle social bias and
articles in criticism of their methods agree.
They cannot factorially back out the more parsimonious
explanation of learning interference.
Just can’t.
While I wholeheartedly support what it is
the researchers are trying to get at, this test
is BUNK and it is shameful, imho, that the
results imply you are prejudicial along lines
of gender, race, (whatever test you take).
It is completely unethical in that it stands to
do far more harm than good. And it doesn’t
hurt the “Blink” author that they’ve tied
it to his book. It Burn$e$, preciou$.
But alas, *this* is exactly what life in
academia is about. Rig the test to get
results. Come to think of it, it’s just
like politics too — twist the data to
drive policy, not the other way around.
See also John Stewart’s Fuzzy Math link
@10 h/t LouCostello.
and skip Project Implicitly CRAP
/sorry, I just take my assessment (and
human subjects) ethics very seriously *g*
Biodun @ 69
great minds, dude.
brendancalling @ 31
How much velvet do you need for a velvet revolution? The purple berries refers to a song by Crosby Stills Nash and Young called “Wooden Ships” regarding the survivors or nukular war.
blue e @ 58
The big question: Is she an A or a B cup?
newtonusr @ 86
Thanks!!! I do recall seeing that.
Sally,
It was an old joke.
Nothing personal. Ive heard it about other strong women too, for example,Margaret Thatcher.
Bad taste maybe, but just a joke.
If I remember correctly, there was a lot of talk about the amount of $$ the Reagans spent on private hairdressers…why is it always alright for rethugs to spend like Marie Antoinette, but when a Dem just tries to put himself or herself together enough to look presentable, all hell breaks loose?
“…publicly ambivalent about style, image and the burdens of both.”
What the hell does that mean?
Gouliani is a cross dresser but the republics are afraid of clenage. Holy shit, what type of alternate universe have I slipped into?
Subway Serenade @ 78
Phantom limb syndrome exists…
and though eponyms are falling our of favor…
Giuliani syndrome - phantom scrotal/testicle syndrome - is too good to let drop.
Strictly in a nosological sense, of course.
Why do people think the MSM is useless?
Because it is.
Used to be that to be a journalist you had to have a background deeper than being a Mean Girl from The High School Cheerleading Squad.
Robin Givhan is an excellent writer and a keen-eyed fashion reporter w/ a pultizer to her credit. Now and then she does these off-beat reports on clothing for power men and women. And she puts down Repubs. But when she writes about power women (Pelosi or Clinton), she hits a wrong note.
Since she generally means well and is a progressive to boot, I would let this one go.
mc @ 51
Yes. V-necks tend to slim one down.
This caps Edleman letter “leak”. I’ve been leaning toward supporting Hillary for some time and now, especially after KO’s comment, I definitely have stepped over into her camp with all the support I can muster. The Repubs must really be frightened of Senator Clinton, and rightly so. She’s strong, she’s got money and influence and has shown her ability to stand straight and strong against their attempts to disparage her into oblivion which only makes her look more presidential in my eyes…..