The Washington Post 2008 campaign blog "The Trail" has an update on Cleavage-gate, a minor row that seems to have caught the paper's fashion critic Robin Givhan with a dear-in-the-headlights look while giving New York's junior senator a change to perk up her campaign's finances. [Update: Tim Graham has an excellent take on the matter, coming at it from a different angle than I did here. It's a good read. Check it out.]
As the Post's Howard Kurtz and Anne E. Kornblut note, Givhan protests that she:
...would never say the column was about a body part... It was about a style of dress. People have gone down the road of saying, 'I can't believe you're writing about her breasts.' I wasn't writing about her breasts. I was writing about her neckline.
No matter. Kurtz and Kornblut note that Hillary's acolytes are using Givhan's July 20 article to push-up fundraising:
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign has sent out a fundraising letter calling a Washington Post fashion writer's column on Clinton's cleavage "grossly inappropriate" and asking donors "to take a stand against this kind of coarseness and pettiness in American culture."
One week after the piece, by fashion writer Robin Givhan, took note of the Democratic candidate's low neckline during a speech on the Senate floor, senior Clinton adviser Ann Lewis urged donors to help fight treatment she termed "insulting."
[...]
Lewis's fundraising letter begins: "Can you believe that The Washington Post wrote a 746-word article on Hillary's cleavage? ..... I've seen some off-topic press coverage--but talking about body parts? That is grossly inappropriate.
"Frankly, focusing on women's bodies instead of their ideas is insulting. It's insulting to every women who has ever tried to be taken seriously in a business meeting. It's insulting to our daughters--and our sons--who are constantly pressured by the media to grow up too fast."
—Ken Shepherd is Managing Editor of NewsBusters. You can follow him on Twitter here






















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AAAUGHH! MY EYES! MY
Fri, 07/27/2007 - 17:03 ET by drillanwrAAAUGHH! MY EYES! MY EYES!
Hillary ... Just proving she actually has a pair.
One more thing about Shmillary...
Sat, 07/28/2007 - 10:57 ET by goldenthroat...and she has a liberal IQ equal to her bra size!
"Yeah, that's the ticket!" - Tommy Flanagan
Hillary is the single most
Fri, 07/27/2007 - 17:45 ET by buddycHillary is the single most unappealing woman I have ever looked at, perhaps with the exception of that Behar lady on the view. Man is she one ugly woman.
buddy...
Fri, 07/27/2007 - 17:53 ET by LionKingAll I have to say is this... Helen Thomas
No dude go to any of the
Fri, 07/27/2007 - 18:33 ET by Right2thePointNo dude go to any of the sites who recently linked "breasts not bombs" and you will really see examples of stuff that women fear and gravity demands.
I have no arguments with some womens fears because of that likely progression but mostly doubts about those paired with them that have a bad sense of values they cant even explain to their partners dispite the love they have that isn't based on physical attibutes alone.
As far as the Hillary thing goes, I don't expect nuns in the Senate in fact I have other characterizations for some of the ladies and men there that are not too pretty.
Hillary ain't got sh**....Diane Feinstein could diss her out any day on clevage cuts with room to spare.
Man I'm thinking of that line from the Superman film that said something like "if I have the right size mammary glands I could rule this planet".
I am so not with this I don't even want to research the possibilites of posting a link to the quote that may be more accurate than my recall.
What a crock.
aaaaaaahhhhhh!!! My eyes!!!
Fri, 07/27/2007 - 18:29 ET by PeskyDaneaaaaaaahhhhhh!!! My eyes!!! It burns!!
You win.
Sat, 07/28/2007 - 10:14 ET by buddycYou win.
Lies, lies, everywhere
Fri, 07/27/2007 - 17:57 ET by BlondeLies, lies, everywhere lies....
I didn't realize the attention and the anger it was setting off nationally ..... Women either read it or heard about it. They were indignant on Hillary's behalf and also on their own."
The only thing I'm indignant about is HRC herself.
Where's the indignation
Fri, 07/27/2007 - 18:55 ET by Chris NormanWhere's the indignation when Givhan has made catty remarks about Republicans' dress? Yet one remark about Hillary...
I know, same old, same old.
The dogs bark, but the caravan moves on.
- Arabian Proverb
Chris, Oh, you mean like
Fri, 07/27/2007 - 19:04 ET by BlondeChris,
Oh, you mean like the incessant commentary about Condi's boots? (Nice, if you ask me).
The media is throwing a fit over the mere mention HRC's cleavage (no, not going to comment on that)?
Sheesh...give me a break. I find much more fascinating the dead silence regarding the botoxed and siliconed appearance of HRC at last week's debate....compare and contrast to numerous pic's of the woman from only six months ago.
What really addles my brain is that HRC had all of this work done, knowing full good and well there would be no commentary at all on the subject from the MsM.
What's up with that?
Blonde, I find it
Fri, 07/27/2007 - 19:19 ET by Chris NormanBlonde,
I find it alternately - maddening, hilarious, depressing, unbelievable, totally believable - that hypocrisy and double standards that are so blatantly obvious, are practiced day in and out by the media and yet goes unnoticed by others or doesn't bother them.
The dogs bark, but the caravan moves on.
- Arabian Proverb
I know, Chris. It's
Fri, 07/27/2007 - 19:24 ET by BlondeI know, Chris.
It's bizarro world in the MsM. Housing prices are up....but the "housing market" is down. The war on poverty rages on....while the "poor" own their homes, have multiple TV's, cell phones, DVD players, personal transportation, etc., etc. Healthcare sucks (riiightt....I'd rather pay a small bit of my insurance and a co-pay to get immedate and fabulous care than have the nanny-Canadian version of rationed healthcare).
Oh....and what's up with the DEAD SILENCE of the MsM on this horrific hurricane season we're having here.....caused by MAN MADE GLOBAL WARMING?
It's truly idiotic.
Yet, there are those here
Fri, 07/27/2007 - 19:28 ET by Chris NormanYet, there are those here (and we know who they are) who maintain that there's nothing wrong with the way the media reports (or doesn't report ) the news - Oh. Except for Fox...
The dogs bark, but the caravan moves on.
- Arabian Proverb
Condi's boots, Cheney's
Fri, 07/27/2007 - 20:07 ET by motherbeltCondi's boots, Cheney's coat, and John Roberts' children were not even spared her acid tongue. But don't dare touch Hillary.....
Quite, mb.
Fri, 07/27/2007 - 20:09 ET by BlondeQuite, mb.
Condi's boots, Cheney's
Fri, 07/27/2007 - 20:15 ET by motherbeltOh, and that is NOT cleavage...it is a shot of Hillary's breastbone. That is unattractive on Jennifer Aniston...on a nearly 60-year-old woman it is downright unappetizing! Givhan was right when she said no one wants to see that....
In her entire public life she has never dressed like this. I still think her "handlers" convinced her to do it to counteract Liz Edwards' saying she was acting like a man.
Good grief, what a bunch
Fri, 07/27/2007 - 20:34 ET by balboaGood grief, what a bunch of nonsense. She's a style writer talking about a change in Hillary's wardrobe. If HRC is insulted, she should fold up her campaign right now. It ain't gonna get any easier.
Cleavage-gate
Fri, 07/27/2007 - 19:26 ET by nkviking75Ironic, using a controversy over cleavage to raise support for a boob. Well, if that's the breast they can do...
When you put the clowns in charge, don't be surprised when a circus breaks out.
I give you an ee for effort.
Fri, 07/27/2007 - 19:30 ET by Chris NormanI give you an ee for effort. :)
The dogs bark, but the caravan moves on.
- Arabian Proverb
Busting out with pride
Fri, 07/27/2007 - 19:33 ET by nkviking75My cups runneth over...
When you put the clowns in charge, don't be surprised when a circus breaks out.
Cross you heart? The
Fri, 07/27/2007 - 19:40 ET by Chris NormanCross you heart?
The dogs bark, but the caravan moves on.
- Arabian Proverb
Padding my resume?
Fri, 07/27/2007 - 19:44 ET by nkviking75Would I use falsies here?
When you put the clowns in charge, don't be surprised when a circus breaks out.
Now I am totally convinced
Fri, 07/27/2007 - 19:44 ET by BlondeNow I am totally convinced you men think about breasts all the time.
I tried to think of something clever to say and came up blank....but you two just keep out-doing each other.
So tell me again, who pays attention to the brassiere ads?
Sheesh....laughing!
sometimes football
Fri, 07/27/2007 - 19:57 ET bysometimes football intrudes
Support our Troops
There's football in
Fri, 07/27/2007 - 19:59 ET by BlondeThere's football in brassiere ads?
no into our
Fri, 07/27/2007 - 20:04 ET bytrain of thought, along with
mmmm, donuts
Support our Troops
Uplifting thoughts
Fri, 07/27/2007 - 20:07 ET by nkviking75Sheesh, I try and contribute something uplifting...
When you put the clowns in charge, don't be surprised when a circus breaks out.
}}---> Hillary's new slogan
Fri, 07/27/2007 - 20:22 ET by Cool ArrowTaTa for NOW
Ewwww! Even my plumber's
Fri, 07/27/2007 - 21:19 ET by fitzfongEwwww! Even my plumber's "cleavage" is more appealing.
You talk about "hanging
Fri, 07/27/2007 - 22:05 ET by fitzfongYou talk about "hanging chads".
Are you sure?
Sat, 07/28/2007 - 10:48 ET by goldenthroatShmillary Roadhouse Clinton has cleavage? Don't say that too loud or Wosie O'Dumber might want to check it out!
"Yeah, that's the ticket!" - Tommy Flanagan
She was just trying to show
Sat, 07/28/2007 - 12:48 ET by cruiserShe was just trying to show her support for the boobs who sent in the questions.
Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read. ---- Groucho Marx
Sure, Democrats would never be so shallow
Sat, 07/28/2007 - 12:54 ET by Jack BauerSure, Democrats would never be so shallow as to base politics on the way politicians look, would they. Certainly not Rahm Emanuel in the Washington Post.