The Washington Examiner’s Jeff Dufour and Patrick Gavin reported Monday in their regular "Yeas & Nays" feature that Katie Couric had announced with pride, "I am a feminist." The ultra-liberal National Organization for Women honored Couric at their annual Intrepid Awards Gala last week in Washington, DC, and the CBS Evening News anchor received a warm welcome from her feminist compatriots.
During her speech before the NOW Gang, Couric "opened up," as Dufour and Gavin put it. She quipped to her hosts that "[i]f everyone in the country was like you, CBS News would be number one." Yes, perhaps if everyone were liberal feminist Democrats, then maybe Couric’s program wouldn’t be dead last in the ratings.
Now, this isn’t exactly a surprising "full disclosure" by Couric. When she was still on the Today Show in 1997, guest Whoopi Goldberg outed Couric’s "pro-choice" position on abortion when the comedienne revealed the two had attended a "pro-choice" march together. In October 2006, after the father of a victim of the Columbine shootings declared his pro-life position in a "freeSpeech" segment on CBS Evening News, Couric wrote on her blog that his view might be seen as "repugnant."
Dufour and Gavin recounted how before her current gig, Couric "became household name during her time on NBC's 'Today' show, as she would dress up as Peter Pan or SpongeBob SquarePants, sing and dance, and discuss ‘barbecue facts and myths.’ But now that she's a big-time news anchor on the ‘CBS Evening News,’ she's moved past those frivolous days." The perky journalist is then quoted as saying that now, "I don't do frivolous questions."
Such a statement cannot be taken seriously. During her interview of Hillary Clinton on February 10, 2008, Couric asked, "What were you like in high school? Were you the girl in the front row taking meticulous notes and always raising your hand?...Someone told me your nickname in school was Miss Frigidaire. Is that true?"
Speaking of not being serious, Couric tried two jokes in front of the NOW crowd: "There were many executives I met who thought harass was two words instead of one!" She then added, "You're a great crowd for that joke." Later, she made a housing market joke: "I'm a little concerned, considering their recent troubles, that Fannie Mae provided the chocolate this evening."
Photo illustration by Ken Shepherd, based on Getty Images photo of Katie Couric.
—Matthew Balan is a news analyst at the Media Research Center.
Editor at Large
Comments Policy
repugnant
July 21, 2008 - 11:27 ET by SouthJersey1953Couric wrote on her blog that his view might be seen as "repugnant."
If Katie wants to see repugnant, all she needs to do is look in a mirror. Why hasn't she been replaced yet?
She hasn't been replaced
July 21, 2008 - 11:45 ET by Tom PaineBecause she occupies the X chromosome endowed chair
No Way, She's A Political Activist?
July 21, 2008 - 11:42 ET by deerjerkydaveI'm tired of political activists masquerading as unbiased, objective journalists. I see them for the fraud that they are. This deception that they perpetrate on the public could be the downfall of our nation, or at least the downfall of traditional American values.
----
July 21, 2008 - 12:10 ET by dahliatraversKatie Couric had announced with pride, "I am a feminist."
Really. Speaking of "harass" being two words, Katie, what's your stance on Bill Clinton's pattern of harassing women who were subordinate or, in Kathleen Willy's case, emotionally vulnerable?
if I were a rich man...
July 21, 2008 - 12:16 ET by mom_roxShouldn't that be "If everyone in the country were like you..."?
I know this is picky, but I would expect a top news anchor to know this. (I do not have an English degree, so please correct me if I am wrong.)
A government that robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul.
- George Bernard Shaw, 1944
"was" is correct
July 21, 2008 - 13:06 ET by SouthJersey1953"everyone" is a singular group of people; therefore, was is the correct word here. If Katie said, "If all of the people were idiots like you, CBS News would be number one." then the were would be appropriate. 'All of the people' is plural; 'everyone' is singular.
everyone is like you; everyone was like you;
all of us are like you; all of us were like you
to be or not to be
July 21, 2008 - 16:53 ET by mom_roxSJ, thanks for the reply. I was taught (public schooling) that the subjunctive mood always requires "were" for a 'to be' verb.
The "if she was" phrase just sounds awkward to me.
A government that robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul.
- George Bernard Shaw, 1944
mom knows best...
July 21, 2008 - 17:02 ET by PunditDotComRight you are "mom" - the conditional makes it subjunctive which requires "were". However, I'm not sure they even teach subjunctive any more... I thank my lucky stars that I took a second language! I learned proper conjugation and verb tense in Spanish class, not English.
Grammar was no longer taught by my (public school) education in California (late '60s, early '70s) - we had "Modern English" which was, of course, perfectly adequate, and which explains why it is acceptable to casually split infinitives...
"[i]f everyone in the
July 21, 2008 - 12:24 ET by fitzfong"[i]f everyone in the country was like you, CBS News would be number one."
If that statement doesn't sum up the mentality of the NOW-type "feminist", I don't know what does. And the similarities between Couric and Hillary's "feminist" rise and fall are almost scary. First, you have a very small, but boisterous group demanding that two women (Katie and the Pantsuit), totally unqualified to occupy a top position, be given that top position because it's "their turn". Then, given the opportunity to reach the top positions, Katie and the Pantsuit fail miserably. Yet when they fail, it's everyone else's fault. They've appointed themselves as representative of all women, as if the success or failure of these two egomaniacs was relevant to the success or failure of all women (whether they like these two or not). Criticism of two individuals is portrayed as an unfair attack on an entire gender. There's nothing wrong with Hillary, there's nothing wrong with Katie...they should just keep doing what they're doing until everyone else "grows up". You talk about wanting it both ways, they want to be elevated to leadership status, yet they want to be protected from the scrutiny that comes with that status. That's the NOW gang for you.
"Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it." -Ronald Reagan
fitzfong.blogspot.com
thanks for the revelation, Matt
July 21, 2008 - 13:12 ET by lotrShe appeared at a NOW gathering?! Nothing like showing one's true radical feminsta colors. One might wonder whether or not CBS is concerned that one of its anchors participates in radically divisive organizations such as this.
Katie is one of the main
July 21, 2008 - 13:13 ET by cocodrieKatie is one of the main reasons i no longer have tv in my home. p.s. Bill Clinton spells harass "herass"
Thanks to the public
July 21, 2008 - 13:53 ET by Chris NormanThanks to the public relations the media, including Couric, has provided, a radical feminist group, like NOW, can be presented by them as a mainstream organization as American as apple pie - innocuous and wholesome as, say, the Campfire Girls...
McNotObama '08
Did the Examiner piece
July 21, 2008 - 14:05 ET by MassConservDid the Examiner piece translate the quote? Just wondering if the original version might have been something more along the lines of "Ich bin ein feminazi."
Speaking of not being
July 21, 2008 - 16:20 ET by MidAmericaSpeaking of not being serious, Couric tried two jokes in front of the NOW crowd:......
I know this is kind of a sensitive subject but really, many of these NOW ladies are getting some age on them and well... telling them jokes could result in embarrassment for them because of bladder control issues.
→ KT is KEWL & GR8
July 21, 2008 - 16:27 ET by Cool ArrowFannie Mae provided the chocolate.
Oh, I am LOL. I mean to tell you I am ROFLMAO.
KT is GR8 & Kewl. Oh, LOL LOL LOL
Get it? Fannie Mae? Chocolate?
LYDSEXICS UNTIE
Saying "I am a feminist" is arrogant
July 21, 2008 - 18:25 ET by wdhorningWhat if I said, "I support pro-white, male agendas?" You got it, there is no difference. It is amazing how these arrogant people think.
NOW is sexist, the NAACP racist and Democrats elitist.
Its like the sign on the back of the car that reads "Show dogs onboard." Huh? What about humans? Don't they count too? Are dogs more important? I mean, its OK to tailgate, for example, when there are only adult males onboard, but OH NO, do not tailgate for dogs, children, feminists or even minorities. What next "Illegals onboard!" ?
Lara Logan Following Couric's Example
July 22, 2008 - 18:33 ET by deerjerkydaveRecently we learned that reporter Lara Logan is a home wrecker. But she's just following the example of her boss Katie Couric. I guess that this what feminism is fighting for.
Katie is an perfect example
July 22, 2008 - 18:39 ET by bigtimerKatie is an perfect example of someone who hasn't grown up yet...and one that never will.
"America isn't the problem...America is the solution." ~ Rush Limbaugh