One day after Cindy McCain stood beside her husband and interjected a comment questioning Michelle Obama's patriotism, the New York Times let its McCain-Iseman story run.
Much has been made about the timing of the story, whether it was deliberately released this late in the primaries to secure McCain the nomination after the Times endorsed him. Whether Mitt Romney would be the front runner today if an 8 year old story had come out 8 weeks ago.
But there's also the remote possibility of a 'Don't make me take my earrings off' moment. As the AP describes Hillary Clinton's campaign as fading; as women are likely to feel a cold chill from Chris Matthews' comments at any given time; it's possible that a feminist editor heard Cindy's:
"I am proud of MY country. I don't know about you, if you heard those words earlier -- I am very proud of MY country.""
and hit 'Publish.'
This season has been a seesaw for strong women. When Jane Fonda used the C word while promoting the Vagina Monologues, all hell broke loose. When Hillary got emotional over women and housing, her tears were parsed. When Michelle said, "For the first time in my adult life, I am really proud of my country, because it feels like hope is making a comeback," all hell broke loose again.
Strong political wives scare the bejesus out of many Americans. The first First Lady to visit a combat zone was Mary Todd Lincoln, during a whisper campaign that she was a Confederate spy. Sufjan Stevens sings, "A Short Reprise For Mary Todd, Who Went Insane, But For Very Good Reasons".
Back to today's aspiring First Ladies - when Cindy disparaged Michelle's comment twice in one day, someone at the Grey Lady finally let the McCain lobbyist story fly. Until then, Barack Obama's wife's new hopefulness was John McCain's wife's major public complaint.
Over 30 years ago the Washington Post had its Deep Throat. Could the New York Times have its own Deep Vulva? It's unlikely, but in the world of mainstream media stranger things have happened.
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Once Cindy decided to speak out she became fair game. Her history of involvement in Keating 5 and stealing drugs from her nonprofit, and the fact that she was involved with McCain while he was still married to his first wife makes her pretty ineffective as an effective weapon against Mrs. Obama.
Advantage - Michelle
Nobama 08'