Yeah, I remember leaving (0.00 / 0)

a few choice words for Walsh along the campaign trail as she told us, her readers, over and over again that if we didn't vote for Hillary we were sexist pigs. To be fair she has been really gung ho Obama lately.

Unlike, oh say Camille Paglia, who views Palin as the new feminist icon and demands that all her readers worship her as the next flowering of feminist culture.

Salon has it's problems. Editorially it seems to be suffering from schizophrenia. But they have, except for Paglia, wholeheartedly united behind Obama now, and it does have to make a connection in a few minds, seeing someone of Walsh's caliber climb onboard the Obama bandwagon after slogging for Hillary all the way. I guess most primary wounds do heal pretty quickly.

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by: Silence Doesnogood @ Tue Oct 14, 2008 at 04:59:37 AM UTC

overdoing it on Walsh a bit (4.00 / 1)

I kept up with Salon's primary coverage and it struck me as pretty fair (except for Michael Scherer's columns which were consistently awful), and I appreciated Walsh in particular as one of the few people who were willing to document the invisible-in-plain-sight sexism that clouded the campaign (Digby's blog was another, and the Daily Howler of course). For the record I didn't support a particular candidate.

Paglia's a contrarian joke and a one-trick pony, and she's not even particularly readable. I'm ashamed she claims to be from Philadelphia.

Anyway, good to hear Hillary supporters are bringing the heat for Obama.

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by: dave marley @ Tue Oct 14, 2008 at 05:16:28 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Michael Scherer writes for Salon too??? ... (0.00 / 0)

he's a McCain fluffer in the worst way .. as much as Joe Klein has uplifted Swampland lately .. Scherer is trying to drag it back down .. I hope Time is not paying for him to follow McCain around .. he just posts their press releases after all

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by: Calvin Jones and the 13th Apostle @ Tue Oct 14, 2008 at 05:33:28 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Paglia Is An Obama Supporter (0.00 / 0)

Don't confuse Paglia cultural enthusiasm for Palin as political support. She has been pro Obama from day one.

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by: C.B. Todd @ Tue Oct 14, 2008 at 09:33:30 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

This isn't helpful... (0.00 / 0)

providing arguments for women to vote for Palin. Can't she wait with the praise until after the elections? Seems to be just another case were incurable chattiness trumps all serious considerations.  

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by: Gray @ Tue Oct 14, 2008 at 09:41:43 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

pagilia (0.00 / 0)

Is basically a strange kind of troll -- not a concern troll, but, perhaps, an "authenticity troll"? Not sure what the right term is. Basically, her schtick is saying very outrageous things and then, when people disagree, demanding why they're enforcing ideological purity.

She really at this point (compared to years ago) doesn't have much to say; her work now, when it is not "outrageous," is largely derivative (e.g., "Break, Blow, Burn", her sort of pop-poetry book -- although I feel bad dumping on it because it is one of the only vaguely intelligent books on poetry for the mass market.)

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by: sdedeo @ Tue Oct 14, 2008 at 12:20:10 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Paglia is the American version (0.00 / 0)

of Germaine Greer. They consider themselves "agent provocatuers" (my spelling may be off), stirring up trouble to make a point. But both do quite a bit of harm along the way.

Greer was one of the few in the West who refused to condemn the fatwa against Rushdie. The real reason seems to be a personal animosity, but she defended the right of the Ayatollah to kill anyone he wanted for religious reasons in print. Her basic argument was that Rushdie got what he deserved.

Paglia, is just plain odd. Does anybody else remember that solemn announcement several years ago that she had decided to undergo gender reclassification? What in the world ever happened with that? I just think that Paglia is potentially doing a great deal of harm by offering up an altar to a wrongly persecuted Palin.

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by: Silence Doesnogood @ Tue Oct 14, 2008 at 16:49:16 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

harm, sure (0.00 / 0)

The mistake is thinking that she cares -- she doesn't.

It helps her to appear as someone who might care about harming Obama or "the cause" -- she generates her outrage in part by making people think "obviously she must be liberal, what is she doing", just as the New Republic degenerated to the point where the phrase "even the liberal New Republic [took this illiberal position.]"

But in the end, Pagilia's concern is for number one, and number one pays the bills trolling on Salon.

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by: sdedeo @ Tue Oct 14, 2008 at 17:40:30 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Hardcore republican Dennis Hopper changed sides, too (0.00 / 0)

"I voted for Bush, father and son, but this time I'll vote for Obama,"
http://afp.google.com/article/...

Well, would have been nice if he would have made up his mind before starring in the smear "An American Carol", but better late than never. God knows how much of this decision is based on the influence of his wife Victoria, a prominent Obama fundraiser and organiser, though.  

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by: Gray @ Tue Oct 14, 2008 at 06:00:34 AM UTC

Begala (0.00 / 0)

I don't know about Walsh, but considering that Begala is one of their go to Dems, I doubt it had anything to do with Obama getting him on here.  He was a crossfire host, and has been on every debate this year as well.

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by: yitbos96bb @ Tue Oct 14, 2008 at 12:51:34 PM UTC

Begala has been on Larry's panels this entire cycle (0.00 / 0)

Often, he appeared in tandem with his writing buddy, Carville. While James supported Hillary, I can't recall who Paul was promoting.

When Joan Walsh was on MSNBC, I thought she was there as a Republican. Many times, Chis Matthews used his favorite compliment to the females, praising her: You're the best.

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by: Books Alive @ Tue Oct 14, 2008 at 23:26:30 PM UTC

[ Parent ]