While I have many issues with Hillary Clinton, both as a political figure and as a candidate, I really hate it when the media is suckered into further
October 7, 2007

While I have many issues with Hillary Clinton, both as a political figure and as a candidate, I really hate it when the media is suckered into furthering Republican memes, especially ones as misogynistic as this.

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In an Iowa appearance over the weekend, Hillary Clinton fielded a question on her support for the Lieberman-Kyl Amendment (and let's be honest, she needs to answer for that vote considering how recklessly the Bush administration treated the Senate vote over Iraq). Unlike those who are "professional journalists", the questioner, Randall Rolph, followed up and got more insistent with Hillary. The exchange has been described as testy or harsh, though it just sounds like she got annoyed and accused Rolph of being a plant. Kudos to Rolph for asking a question the traditional media hasn't and kudos to Hillary for not relying on pre-approved audiences and questions like our current president.

But ever eager to show how unlikable Hillary is (a common theme among Republicans, both politico and layperson alike), MSNBC covered the same non-issue no less than 3 times in the course of an hour, with such charming descriptions as "shrill" and "fishwife-y".

Cheri Jacobus, Republican strategist (naturally) and former RNC spokesperson:

You know, I think this is a real problem for Hillary Clinton and her campaign. If she could have been as calm and rational as say, our good friend here was, maybe she would have gotten away with it. But this is a real problem. She came off as shrill and fishwife-y and thin-skinned. And when we're looking to a Commander in Chief, to elect someone as Commander in Chief, I don't think that's a persona that you want to emit. It's been a problem that they've had with her since her days in Arkansas as First Lady in Arkansas and I think that this highly controlled persona that she's had up until now really is starting to look like it's just barely under the surface, that's she's going to come out with these fishwife-y comments and it is a problem they're going to have to resolve.

I'm curious, we've all seen testy exchanges with McCain, Giuliani and even George Bush...have they ever been described in the media as being "shrill"?

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