It's a commonly held belief that men reason from logic and that women reason from emotion. Male stand-up comedians have it easy. Can't come up with new material? No problem. Just hit 'em with the shtick about how women's minds work; their crazy reasoning; their illogical way of approaching the world, especially men. Just look at what happened when Hillary cried. According to the media -- who assumed results in Iowa clearly meant her campaign should start making funeral arrangements -- New Hampshire was a sure bet for Obama. But since it and its polls couldn't be wrong, the media decided it was the crying thing that made women run out and vote for her in droves. So like emotional women to do that. In the meantime, nobody noticed that the very woman whose question elicited those nauseatingly-documented tears went on to vote for Obama. God forbid Hillary won New Hampshire because she was the most high-profile, nationally-recognized woman in the country and had been in public life for, as she often remind us, 35 years! No, had to be those darn, pesky emotions. But in light of recent, highly illogical thinking on the part of some very high-profile men, I propose we re-evaluate who is winning the illogical and hysterical gender war. Consider these bold statements made in the month of February alone.
That's logical:
Bill O'Reilly on Obama's "Give Hope a Chance" Theme, February 14, 2008: "But as with the John Lennon/Yoko Ono song 'Give Peace a Chance,' hearing it over and over is worse than being waterboarded."
And in the same breath: "Obama is like a Caribbean vacation in February. It's tough to say no to that."
If not hysterics, what do you call the following two opinions?
William Kristol, February 4, 2008: "American conservatism's ascendancy has benefited this country -- and much of the world -- over the last quarter-century."
George W. Bush, February 8, 2008: "Our policies are working. The American people support our points of view. They share our philosophy."
And not to be outdone on the logic front:
Rush Limbaugh, talking to a caller about his disdain for McCain (the newly minted moderate and centrist) while describing what sounds a lot like a guy named Obama, February 12, 2008: "I guarantee you if we had somebody running for office out there, Ted, who was able to articulate with passion and confidence his belief in the American people, their ability to triumph and overcome, and the fact that they're the ones that make the country work, it wouldn't even be close. But we don't have that. We have a roster of people who want to pander to the left."
Anyone want to start a movement?