Cokie Roberts, on ABC's Good Morning America this morning, is accusing the conservative opposition to Harriet Miers of sexism. When asked whether the standards were higher for Miers than they would have been for a man, Roberts replied:
Absolutely. Absolutely. If this were a man who were the White House counsel, the head of the Texas Bar Association, and the head of one of the most important law firms in Dallas we would not be having this conversation about qualifications...There was a lot more sexism that anyone wants to say.
There are any number of female judges who could have been nominated and gotten exactly none of the same criticism that Miers got. Had Janice Rogers Brown or Priscilla Owen or Edith Jones or Edith Clement been nominated, there would have been a completely different discussion. And had a man with Miers' exact qualifications been named, the discussion would have proceeded exactly the same way. The charge of sexism isn't analysis - it's a cliche pulled out in lieu of analysis. Now, to Cokie's credit, she didn't just blame the conservatives. There was some uncalled for mockery on the left, and she did mention it.
And the liberal cartoonists were just as bad. The cartoons of the cleaning lady showing up saying I'm your new federal reserve chairman. I just think that would not have happened with a man.
And that part of it may be right. After all, liberals, as a general rule, can engage in racism and sexism without getting called on it by the Mainstream Media. As opposed to conservatives, who can get accused of it without engaging in it...
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