bigdaddy42
09-14-2007, 10:00 AM
:paper:
WASHINGTON (CNN) – Few political fundraising e-mails have ever carried the subject header “cleavage,” but White House hopeful Hillary Clinton’s (http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/candidates/hillary.clinton.html) presidential campaign sent a solicitation to supporters Friday with the attention-grabbing header in order to decry a recent Washington Post article (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/19/AR2007071902668.html?hpid=topnews) devoted to the New York Democrat’s chest — and raise campaign cash in the process.
“Frankly, focusing on women’s bodies instead of their ideas is insulting,” Ann Lewis, a senior adviser to Clinton, wrote in the e-mail. “It’s insulting to every woman who has ever tried to be taken seriously in a business meeting. It’s insulting to our daughters — and our sons — who are constantly pressured by the media to grow up too fast.”
“Take a stand against this kind of coarseness and pettiness in American culture,” Lewis adds, with a link to make a contribution to the campaign. “And take a stand for Hillary, the most experienced, most qualified candidate running for president.”
Lewis is referring to an article published in last Friday’s Washington Post Style Section, in which reporter Robin Givhan claims Clinton’s cleavage was “on display” during a recent Senate floor speech.
“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,” Givhan wrote in the article which detailed Clinton’s style evolution over the years. “It doesn't necessarily mean that a woman is asking to be objectified, but it does suggest a certain confidence and physical ease.”
Lewis also indirectly aired her grievances with Clinton’s Democratic competitors John Edwards (http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/candidates/john.edwards.html) and Barack Obama (http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/candidates/barack.obama.html), who, at the CNN/YouTube debate last Monday, discussed (http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2007/07/23/the-jacket-debate/) Clinton’s “coral” jacket. When asked to say something he didn’t like about the candidate to his left, Edwards joked he wasn’t fond of her jacket, to which Obama replied that he liked it.
“There will always be people who try to make a campaign about make up, clothes, and now, even cleavage,” Lewis wrote. “In fact, if you watched the last debate, you remember that Hillary's jacket was the subject of some discussion among the candidates — because it was coral.”
But Clinton isn’t the only presidential candidate whose appearance has undergone scrutiny. Edwards’s pricey haircuts (http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2007/07/05/edwards-400-haircut-actually-a-bargain/), Obama’s frequently ‘open collar’ (http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB118133753537729469-_UYA0zpwcjm4Se3G1HAs5FvP_M8_20070709.html?mod=fpa_ editors_picks), Arizona Sen. John McCain’s V-neck sweaters (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/22/fashion/22candidates.html), and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney’s expensive make-up jobs (http://news.bostonherald.com/politics/view.bg?articleid=1011981) have all been the subject of past media attention.
– CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney
WASHINGTON (CNN) – Few political fundraising e-mails have ever carried the subject header “cleavage,” but White House hopeful Hillary Clinton’s (http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/candidates/hillary.clinton.html) presidential campaign sent a solicitation to supporters Friday with the attention-grabbing header in order to decry a recent Washington Post article (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/19/AR2007071902668.html?hpid=topnews) devoted to the New York Democrat’s chest — and raise campaign cash in the process.
“Frankly, focusing on women’s bodies instead of their ideas is insulting,” Ann Lewis, a senior adviser to Clinton, wrote in the e-mail. “It’s insulting to every woman who has ever tried to be taken seriously in a business meeting. It’s insulting to our daughters — and our sons — who are constantly pressured by the media to grow up too fast.”
“Take a stand against this kind of coarseness and pettiness in American culture,” Lewis adds, with a link to make a contribution to the campaign. “And take a stand for Hillary, the most experienced, most qualified candidate running for president.”
Lewis is referring to an article published in last Friday’s Washington Post Style Section, in which reporter Robin Givhan claims Clinton’s cleavage was “on display” during a recent Senate floor speech.
“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,” Givhan wrote in the article which detailed Clinton’s style evolution over the years. “It doesn't necessarily mean that a woman is asking to be objectified, but it does suggest a certain confidence and physical ease.”
Lewis also indirectly aired her grievances with Clinton’s Democratic competitors John Edwards (http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/candidates/john.edwards.html) and Barack Obama (http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/candidates/barack.obama.html), who, at the CNN/YouTube debate last Monday, discussed (http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2007/07/23/the-jacket-debate/) Clinton’s “coral” jacket. When asked to say something he didn’t like about the candidate to his left, Edwards joked he wasn’t fond of her jacket, to which Obama replied that he liked it.
“There will always be people who try to make a campaign about make up, clothes, and now, even cleavage,” Lewis wrote. “In fact, if you watched the last debate, you remember that Hillary's jacket was the subject of some discussion among the candidates — because it was coral.”
But Clinton isn’t the only presidential candidate whose appearance has undergone scrutiny. Edwards’s pricey haircuts (http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2007/07/05/edwards-400-haircut-actually-a-bargain/), Obama’s frequently ‘open collar’ (http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB118133753537729469-_UYA0zpwcjm4Se3G1HAs5FvP_M8_20070709.html?mod=fpa_ editors_picks), Arizona Sen. John McCain’s V-neck sweaters (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/22/fashion/22candidates.html), and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney’s expensive make-up jobs (http://news.bostonherald.com/politics/view.bg?articleid=1011981) have all been the subject of past media attention.
– CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney