February 14, 2008
by lestro
by lestro
Yeah, I said it. And why not, it’s just a word.
But it’s a revealing word, especially when judging someone’s reaction to it.
By now we all know that the Clinton Mafia went apeshit last week when an MSNBC reporter described the Clinton Family Campaign machine like this:
“Doesn’t it seem like Chelsea’s sort of being pimped out in a weird sort of way?”
The reporter, David Shuster, was immediately forced to apologize and suspended after Hillary Clinton adviser Howard Wolfsen responded like this:
Asked about Shuster’s “pimp” comment, Wolfson denounced the comment as “disgusting” and “beneath contempt,” adding: “It’s the kind of thing that should never be said on a national news network.”
Then Wolsfon added: “You have to question whether or not there is a pattern here on the part of the network.” He added: “Is this part of a pattern? I don’t know, but [it’s] beneath contempt.”
So I looked up the verb “to pimp” and found this at Merriam-Webster’s Web site:
“to make use of often dishonorably for one’s own gain or benefit”
That sounds about right to me, especially when you add the “in a weird way” part of Shuster’s question. Chelsea has been pulled away from her job and fiance in order to help circle their race-baiting wagons around her mother’s flagging campaign.
But beyond that and the fact that they are sinking and they know it and grasping at straws (MSNBC is apparently part of yet another vast conspiracy to bring down the Clintons. Easier than blaming the candidate or the lack of a coherent, consistent message, I suppose, though it is worth noting that the Campaign Manager and assistant have both been canned this week…).
But what it really shows is the generational divide developing both in the country and especially the campaign. It reminds us that the Clintons, and many of the Baby Boomers, whose time, as we know, is coming to an end, have turned into the Old Guard who are completely out-of-touch with both culture and the changing uses of words.
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