What Passes For Journalism

Just when you think a despicable display of sexist misogyny has unfortunately been relegated to the dustbins of recent history, along comes a sad excuse for “journalism-as-spin” that brings the whole sordid mess back to the fore.  In a silly-assed Washington Post rah-rah Obama piece, Eli Saslow “fluffs” Jon Favreau in an attempt to excuse his frat-boy behavior by talking up his dubious talent.  Yes, Favreau can lift inspirational passages from famous historical speeches and bracket them with trite advertising slogans and folksy parables as well as, or better than, most, but, is that really praise-worthy?  And, can any responsible adult be considered so if he promotes a “boys will be boys” excuse for the president-elect’s ventriloquist-by-proxy?  (Axelrod puts the ideas in Favreau’s head, then Jonny puts the words in Obie’s mouth.)

Three months ago, Favreau lived in a group house with six friends in Chicago, where he rarely shaved, never cooked and sometimes stayed up to play video games until early morning. Now, he has transformed into what one friend called a “Washington political force” — a minor celebrity with a down payment on a Dupont Circle condo, whose silly Facebook photos with a Hillary Rodham Clinton cutout created what passes for controversy in Obama’s so far drama-free transition.

There are just so many things wrong with that portion of a paragraph from Salow’s pitiful piece of pointless praise that one barely knows where to start.  “Obama’s so far drama-free transition?”  Is this guy kidding?  Did he just wake up from a self-induced coma, unburdened by the reality of Rezko, Blagojevich, Wright and Company Under The Bus tours?  And, what the hell does shaving have to do with “celebrity?”  Does “Favs” shave every day now?  Was he freshly shaven at the party?  Was the possibility that he was tonsorially irresponsible excuse, mitigate or explain his drunken, disrespectful pose with the image of the nation’s new Secretary of State?

I really don’t care what Hillary Clinton says about the incident, nor do I care for the “good ol’ boys” club mentality James Carville espouses that diminishes Favreau’s bad juvenile behavior.  He got busted being stupid, he should be fired.  Otherwise, he’ll never learn, and probably never grow up.  And maybe Saslow and Carville will learn that “silly” jokes about sexual harassment are just as funny as ones about lynching black people, dumb Polacks, backwoods hillbillies, penny-pinching Jews, and their mothers.