Double Your Pleasure, Double Your Standard
As I sat watching some of the news coverage of former Vice-Presidential candidate John Edwards and his affair, I tend to take a different approach than most. My conservative friends are already yelling about a double standard of media coverage and if John Edwards were a Republican or a Christian Minister, it would be feeding time at the news zoo. How soon we forget.
As the old adage goes, “Democrats get in trouble over sex, Republicans get in trouble over money.” Libertarians tend to get in trouble over sex for money. (Just kidding on that one). The reason why the press gets more excited over Republican-conservative sex scandals because usually the Republican-conservative who gets caught with the guy or gal was out the night before spending a lot of time preaching about moral virtue or making it part of their political platform.
If you need me to jar your memory allow me to throw some names at you, David Vitter, Larry Craig, Glen Murphy, Ted Haggard, etc. etc.
When you spend time and make a living pointing out the moral failings and short-comings of others, the press and society as a whole, tends to get excited when you get your come-up-ins.
Now John Edwards biggest sin wasn’t the crime, it was the lie. He should have been honest and thrown out the line “yes, we’ve had problems in our marriage” or “I’m not perfect and have fallen short, but have worked towards redemption and my wife has forgiven me” blah, blah, blah. All that would have been much better than the flat out denial. That’s what happens when you let the little head do the thinking for the big head.
But as far as there being a double standard, I disagree. We’ve all fallen short; but some of us are midgets.
August 10th, 2008 at 10:39 am
Abdul, great points and I agree with you on these items.
But, as one that spends much of his time advocating for individuals with disabilities I think with all your education you could have come up with a better last line.
Peace.
August 10th, 2008 at 10:40 am
should have said my time not his time…sorry too much coffee.
Boycott Tropic Thunder…
Peace
August 10th, 2008 at 11:18 am
Since Edwards’ tryst bore no fruit, he is essentially guilty of the sin of masturbation (Physical, spiritual and political Onanism). So, let he who has a free hand, cast the first stone…
August 10th, 2008 at 2:18 pm
What about the NY Times story about a rumored affair between John McCain and a staffer? Where was the story on Edwards?? The fact that the mainstream media routinely neglects to mention the party of the alleged wrongdoer unless that person is a republican should be ample evidence that a double standard exists.
Your take on this doesn’t surprise, Abdul. You sold your soul and have been moving left ever since the messiah entered the scene. Now you’re being an apologist for leftist journalists. Shocking!
August 10th, 2008 at 2:33 pm
If ya all remember Jerry Springer was the mayor of Cincinnati and married when he used a personal check to pay for a hooker. That got him bounced out of his job as mayor and divorced. He then he landed a job as a political newsman on a local TV station (hmm does Abdul have any skeletons in his closet ;) ) in Cincinnati. The rest is history! Hey the English think that having a affair is the norm in politics in England. Let all those who have not been divorced or cheated on please stand up! God help me I am standing next to Wilson!!!!! VBG
August 10th, 2008 at 2:38 pm
Hey Rico,
For someone who complains about what I write, you sure do seem to read a lot of it.
August 10th, 2008 at 6:03 pm
“Rico” hasn’t been the same since Shannon’s Roaring Twenties shut down… (stones, glass houses, etc)
August 10th, 2008 at 6:40 pm
Really “As the old adage goes, “Democrats get in trouble over sex, Republicans get in trouble over money.” I don’t think so…
REPUBLICANS- Look into Newt Gingrich affair with congressional aide Callista Bisek while Newts wife battled cancer. Or John McCain who was still married and living with his wife in 1979 while, courting a 25-year-old woman who was as beautiful as she was rich. McCain divorced his wife, who had raised their three children while he was imprisoned in Vietnam, then launched his political career with his new wife’s family money. DEMOCRATS-Democratic fundraiser Norman Hsu turned himself in to authorities on Friday on a 16-year-old grand theft charge. A major fundraiser for Hillary. Or Rep. William Jefferson, D-Louisiana, received from a Kentucky businessman paying more than $400,000 to him in bribes for contracts.
August 10th, 2008 at 7:21 pm
I agree with Abdul’s take on this one aspect of media coverage, but you can’t use just sex scandals as proof that there is no double standard or liberal bias in the media. Pretty silly argument really, or accidently taken too far.
August 10th, 2008 at 8:05 pm
Abdul, I was sorry to see your response to Rico. You and your site should welcome, indeed encourage, debate and counterpoints. I read several sites. There are posts that I don’t agree with, but they cause me to think. And in this case, I think you are more thoughtful than your post (unless you and Rico have a history). Regarding this Wilson post, he only surfaces when he can poke at someone. He never, but never surfaces when challenged to respond to specific charges leveled at local politicians. I can only assume that is because there is no alternative point. Too bad because it is a forum for exchange and learning.
August 10th, 2008 at 10:49 pm
I don’t complain about what you write, Abdul, I only disagree with (some of) it.
Am I disappointed with your support of Obama? Absolutely! Am I curious why a self-proclaimed conservative would back the most liberal member of the U.S. senate? Not anymore. I, along with many others, have figured that one out.
I enjoy your show–at least before Chris started co-hosting–and I enjoy this blog. Perhaps, like your hero, your skin is a bit too thin.
The mainstream media is actively campaigning for your boy.(…Sorry, Barry would claim I’m a racist at this point. I hope you know better.) The people responsible for “informing” us will do whatever is in their power to get Obama elected. For you to imply that these same folks deal even-handedly with those on both sides of the aisle is laughable.
It appears to me that you’re pulling an “Arianna Huffington” on your listeners/readers. You’ve realized that you will get significantly more media coverage if you support their guy. And you are right! Imagine the possibilities for your career if you simply fall in step with the vast majority of your colleagues in journalism. The sky’s the limit.
How much is a man’s integrity worth these days?
August 10th, 2008 at 10:52 pm
Abdul, have you checked to see how many contracts Aaron Haith’s firm has?
That would be interesting to know.
August 10th, 2008 at 10:53 pm
An old warrant officer once told me that one should not dip one’s pen in company ink.
Then, if you are stupid as a box of slippery river rocks and ignore the first rule, don’t compound dumb by lying until you can lie no more. That goes to character. It is not about sex. It is about accepting responsibility for what we do.
August 10th, 2008 at 10:59 pm
Sorry Abdul, this should have been a comment in another topic.
“Have you checked to see how many contracts Aaron Haith’s firm has?
August 11th, 2008 at 2:50 am
off the topic abdul…read a topic of 12 hr shifts for impd. what are they thinking. they are trying to do away with part time for officers. that 12 hr day just went to 16. I thought they were trying to save gas money-isnt it nice to know, if hunter gets the police to pay for gas, it will be for the 12 hr shifts(we will have no time to drive it off duty). Fatigue will be a certainty. I would like to see a 10 hr shift…roll into a 12 hr shift. How about this–get the brass/stats, that wont have to work it, look at a winter 12 hrs/summer 10 hrs. its nice to know that newman, owensby, and mahone are playing with officers lives, and will not be in the trenches. Tried to post on star, but, now you need fbi, top secret.
August 11th, 2008 at 9:58 am
Interesting topic. At least one US soldier has been captured by Russia while operatin in Georgia, US airplanes have become potential targets of Russia as they are used to transport Georgian troops to the front lines, and the crass media is focusing on water cooler conversation. This kind of news is the reason I don’t tune into FOX or CNN. Their only usefulness is to measure how hard the media is working to distract us from reality.
August 11th, 2008 at 11:21 pm
I was really surprised about Edwards tryst when I learned that it was with a woman.
As far as McCain’s alleged affair, that’s a no brainer. I mean she’s 25, has something like a 100 million bucks and owns a beer factory. Give the guy a break.