The media's double standard on criticizing the children of famous people
It wasn't always this way. During the Bill Clinton presidency, the media imposed a level of self-restraint when it came to commentary about Chelsea Clinton that was so impressive that it didn't end until the younger Clinton went to work for NBC News. Almost as soon as the Bushes moved into the White House, that restraint went out the window for Jenna and Barbara Bush, the twin daughters of the president. The news media became very interested in their social lives, especially their normal adolescent flirtation with alcohol, using it to remind readers of Bush's status as a recovering alcoholic. Saturday Night Live even aired a skit about the two girls in 2004, ridiculing them for the opportunity to attack their father (and Dick Cheney). No one called for the firing of Lorne Michaels, Tina Fey, or Amy Poehler.
Skip forward a few years to 2008, when John McCain named Sarah Palin as his running mate. During the campaign, the media focused on the circumstances of Palin's fifth pregnancy, speculating openly that Trig had actually been the child of teenaged Bristol Palin.
No one lost a job over that baseless smear, nor did Carol Costello at CNN for this year's version of Palinoia. The Palin family made headlines for a fight that erupted at a party, which was certainly a legitimate news story. The CNN anchor, though, sounded positively gleeful to play the audio of a clearly traumatized Bristol describing how she had been assaulted. "Sit back and enjoy!" the CNN anchor told viewers. "This is quite possibly the best minute and a half of audio we've ever come across."
Costello had lectured viewers during the summer about "blaming the victim" when it came to domestic violence, after some blamed Janay Rice for staying in an abusive situation after getting assaulted by NFL running back Ray Rice, and Rice for committing violence in front of a camera. "Does that mean it's OK to deck your gal if no one is around to see it?" Costello asked. Less than two months later, the CNN anchor is chortling with glee over the younger Palin's assault.
That didn't result in a firing. It didn't even get a televised apology.
Finally, let's go back to a particularly close parallel to Lauten, in 2005. The Washington Post offered a fashion critique by Robin Givhan of Chief Justice John Roberts' children. "Separate the child from the clothes, which do not acknowledge trends, popular culture or the passing of time," Givhan wrote about their attire. "They are not classic; they are old-fashioned. These clothes are Old World, old money and a cut above the light-up/shoe-buying hoi polloi."
Did I mention that Jack and Josie Roberts were 5 and 4 years old at the time? Yet Givhan had no compunction about skewering them in order to paint their parents as snobs and out-of-touch aristocrats. The Post never apologized, and Givhan continued working there for another five years...Also read:
CNN media critic: The coverage of Lauten was a little much, huh?
In much less important news than Lauten's Facebook post, Dem staffer pleads guilty to sexual assault
That the MSM blows up over an obscure GOP staffer's Facebook post about the Obama girls and virtually buries, if not outright ignores, the conviction of a Democrat staffer for sexual abuse is not shocking of course. It is just further proof that they are squarely aligned as the water carriers for the Democrat agenda and anything they can do to continue the stereotype of Republicans as mean-spirited, cold-blooded, heartless SOB's they will. As with most things liberal, how they try and paint others is actually defining themselves. How can any other conclusion be reached when we have mountains of evidence of their sophomoric and outright crude, disgusting treatment of the Bush and Palin daughters?
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