Friday, August 23, 2013

"Please fire Maureen Dowd"

"...or at least get her a fact-checker," requests middle-brow Salon, according to which, there has been "another screw-up that would get a less famous reporter axed." This latest brouhaha is over a misquote which Dowd attributes to conducting an interview in a noisy restaurant.
The New York mayoral race this week detoured into one of the occasional rounds of umbrage-taking that are a regular feature of American campaigns, as City Council Speaker Christine Quinn claimed that the wife of Public Advocate Bill de Blasio unfairly criticized Quinn for being childless. This wouldn’t necessarily be a big deal, even in terms of our little municipal election, except that the quote was actually a misquote. Making matters worse: The misquoter was New York Times political columnist Maureen Dowd. And Maureen Dowd has something of a history of screw-ups like this.
In chopping and screwing that response, Dowd turned what is basically a policy criticism, and one clearly based on de Blasio’s well-known campaign message, into a much juicier personal slam. The Times corrected the column and Dowd apologized, blaming the error on the noisiness of the diner where the interview was conducted — a diner whose name she also got wrong in her column, necessitating another correction. But the thing was already out there, a little outrage balloon launched into the frenzied last weeks of a primary campaign.
Is Dowd just another boomer resting on the laurels of past glories, ready to be comfortably stabled with a feedbag of organic oats? Has the time come to replace her with a newer princess of snark to serve up misquotes that sway public elections? I seriously doubt it.

39 comments:

edutcher said...

The term Dowdification isn't new.

She's been getting it wrong for a long time and the south 40 calls her.

YoungHegelian said...

Oh, please!

If one hasn't figured out yet that our "betters" are incompetent dickheads who have absolutely no intention of taking responsibility for their screw-ups, one has been asleep at the wheel for quite some time now.

Evi L. Bloggerlady said...

deborah: "Is Dowd just another boomer resting on the laurels of past glories, ready to be comfortably stabled with a feedbag of organic oats?"

I think you know the answer to that already.

Evi L. Bloggerlady said...

deborah, I would be a bit less charitable. Dowd is ready to be led off to the glue factory.

betamax3001 said...

Ever Since She Slept With Chelsea M Jackson Her Compass has been Off.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

She can certainly be an entertaining and somewhat talented writer, but for more longstanding evidence that snark gets in the way of her stability, you might want to check out the Althousian books she wrote a few years back.

That's probably the danger of snarky satire - the role takes hold. One can be like Stephen Colbert and just embrace the satirized mindset entirely, turning it into parody, or attempt to be overly even-handed like Jon Stewart. Either way, all punditry carries the hazard of taking things too far. All writers carry the hazard of confusing narrative with plot. It's enough to tempt a channelling of Mark Twain and write fiction, where at least the veracity of events is beside the point.

chickelit said...

I first began reading Maureen Dowd in 1983, before she wrote for the NYT. It's been 30 years! That's quite a run. R.I.P.

deborah said...

lol EBL, well said, for a cow!

I can't read Dowd. It's just too much of the same, and after a while, the zingers don't zing.

Good analysis, Rit.

deborah said...

Yeah, chick, 30 years! She's been mailing it in for at least 10, I'd guess.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

It's got to be debilitating having to keep her powder dry while Obama is in office for eight years.

In column writing years, eight years has to be an eternity.

Icepick said...

Deborah, I read that last paragraph of yours and I thought I was reading a Pastafarian post. I don't know what that means!

deborah said...

Icepick, I didn't want to tell you until you were older, but...

ndspinelli said...

She must be up to 2 liters of vodka a day by now.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Obama, essentially told her to shut up and she still shut.

Audio: Obama scolds Maureen Dowd for making fun of his ears.

The Obama/Maureen clip starts at about 60% of the way in...

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Remember when Joe Wilson, the congressman, told Obama "you lie" at the State of Union?

Maureen wrote a column saying that what she heard was "But, fair or not, what I heard was an unspoken word in the air: You lie, boy!"

Althouse asked...

Why is she not ashamed to let us hear that? Because she somehow really thinks that what comes from her own brain does not come from her own brain. That's not just unfair — as her statement reveals she knows — it's crazy.

and answered.

ndspinelli said...

And what is Annie up to, 2 boxes a day?

deborah said...

Respectfully, Lem, that was a bull-shitty analysis by AA. The tip-off is if I have to read something 3 or 4 times to confirm my original take.

deborah said...

I think it's below the belt to accuse people of being lushes. Something tells me there's a fair amount of imbibing going on in these environs.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

And what is Annie up to, 2 boxes a day?

Boxing day is December 26. I hear its big in Canada.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

The tip-off is if I have to read something 3 or 4 times to confirm my original take.

I did to, but, In the end, I think it was a takedown.

Icepick said...

And what is Annie up to, 2 boxes a day?

Seinfeld: Who drinks and entire box of wine?!

Icepick said...

Icepick, I didn't want to tell you until you were older, but...

Holy crap!

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

My Seinfeld is getting rusty.

deborah said...

It was a take-down, but reminded me of the way AA herself thinks. Dowd just had the clackers to say it.

Lydia said...

Oh, goody, maybe Kathleen "Hillary can save the world!" Parker can take Dowd's place.

A staunch conservative at last.

(I kid.)

Sydney said...

Her skin looks oddly plastic in that photo.

JAL said...

Hate to be so unoriginal, but --- if Dowd were a Republican ... (you can fill in the blank) or a conservative blogger ... (you can fill in the blank).

rcocean said...

Why fire her? The NYT might replace her with a competent leftist.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

It was a take-down, but reminded me of the way AA herself thinks.

Her Dinner with Maureen Dowd.

Or, Althouse had Maureen for Dinner.

Same thing.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Listening to Vin Scully is my idea of a little piece of heaven.

Titus said...

My fave Dowd editorial was when she was hanging with David Geffen in Malibu and he bitched about the Clinton's always lieing.

You know that must of hurt Bill and Hil.

bagoh20 said...

I just want someone fired. I don't care much who it is, as long as they voted for Obama. It seems like nobody gets fired anymore. Incompetence is expected, and accepted in all jobs involving lefties. Corruption is almost worthy of notice, and I doubt that fragging your boss even gets you anything worse than time off with pay, and no loss of sick days. Mere mediocrity and uselessness will get you employee of the month status and a bonus.

Aridog said...

deborah said...

I think it's below the belt to accuse people of being lushes ...

I'd agree normally, but there are exceptions...e.g., those who make habit of calling others that. A recently infrequent drive-by commenter made a habit of doing just that.

Aridog said...

bagoh20 ... nobody gets fired in bureaucratic outfits unless they don't have any extortion leverage. There is a reason egregious assholes don't get fired...they know too much about the other egregious assholes. It's equilibrium.

[ps: I know you already know this...just couldn't resist the opportunity to 'esplain it one more time.]

virgil xenophon said...

rcocean is on to something. During the Vietnam war there was an AAA gunner over in Laos along one of our routes that we never fired upon; his aim was so consistently lousy we were afraid that if we knocked him out he might be replaced by someone really
dangerous, lol.

Phil 314 said...

Please,please, please ! Let's not follow the Althouse habit of following Dowd.

Joe Schmoe said...

Why fire her? The NYT might replace her with a competent leftist.

Not to worry; no such thing exists outside the mind of Aaron Sorkin.

deborah said...

Not to worry, Phil. It was just a one-off. Does she follow her all that much, anyway?

(I take that back. There is one piece I'm going to write on, one day. I'd rather rag on Noonan :)

Methadras said...

Jesus, Name one leftist that has ever been right about anything.