Right as rain. All these guys are out of a job instead of looking forward to cozy sinecures in a McCain White House. And who do they unload on?
Bunch of nasty people.

rated and don't want the campaigns rerun. esp the bad parts.

I'm still amazed at Olberman's grossness. "Used" is such a trigger word in regards to women. I am sure his choice was not accidental.

Great post, LT. I have just completely stopped watching Olbermann because of his snide, derisive, almost-juvenile behavior. He and Chris Matthews are two of the biggest sexist clowns on MSNBC. I still, occasionally, whip off a LTE to MSNBC executives about these two -- just to let them know I'm not letting them off the hook! My bet is that other women do this as well...

I hope so. I wrote an irate email tonight.

It’s still a joke to me that Olbermann is on the news in the first place.
He’s supposed to be hosting “Sportscenter.”

It would have been so easy for him to say something like, “Palin’s reputation as a serious politician may have been hurt by this campaign,” which still forces a similarly partisan point across without resorting to being a complete sexist pig.

I boycott MSNBC, just like I boycott Fox News and every other lousy cable channel. There is no way you’re ever going to convince me that I need to pay $40-$60 a month to have access to that garbage. My bunny ears work just fine. They deliver the garbage for free (and refreshingly less of it, to boot).

I was watching a couple of back to back Entertainment
Tonight type shows and they both had a segment on
Palin's current funky misdeeds followed by the super
gloriousness of Michelle Obama and her inaugural gowns.
Now, Michelle is indeed beautiful and worthy but it
just totally sucks how one person is trashed and the
other exalted.

Dakini, I must have missed those side by sides. What I did see was report after report criticizing M. Obama's choice of dress. It was as if I had been time warped back to when Senator Clinton was being slogged for her hair cut and "lack of fashion sense."

Edgar, I have a package deal with my internet modem and admit that I surf the news all day long. I even watch the news on my phone. I don't watch to be informed, I watch to see how things are being interpreted and packaged for the public. The best thing of course is that I get the Daily Show and Cobert Report. My phone saves their clips for a week in case I miss any.

While I was no fan of Sarah Palin during the campaign, the way she's being treated as a scapegoat now saddens me. I think her overconfident and under-informed performance should be reason enough to prevent her from running for the GOP nomination in 2012.

I worry that these gender based attacks, including the shopzilla from Wasilla story that the McCain campaign staff were spreading, will make it harder for any other woman to run for President, or VP.

Peppermint, While the vitriol and scum "they" heap on women may discourage some, there are others who will see it and run just because. Also Emily's List is not going to stop pushing.

This year marked tremendous victories for Emily's List nationally and for Annie's List here in Texas at the State level. Both organizations recruit, train and support women who run for office. My mother has gone through their training and served in public office, so I am very supportive of their candidates.

I really like your profile photo. Betty Page is such an icon and a very strong woman. She has lived on her own terms and did as she wished with her career. I had a serious crush on her growing up and appreciate your choice.

Yeah, it's ugly and only makes those delivering the slurs look bad to me.

Furthermore, when Olbermann does it, he is buying into the GOP's gambit of acting like Palin was the only reason they lost, which is arrant nonsense. He should know better.

"Used goods". It's such an old-fashioned term too, it connotes a whole array of attitudes that should be long gone.

Jason, I will give Olbermann credit for the rest of his report which did suggest there was an ulterior motive for much of the sleaze being anonymously dropped on Governor Palin. But in a way Olbermann's deliberate slut shaming of the Governor in his lead in was made even worse by his acknowledgement of Republican machinations. It was as if he had decided kick Governor Palin with all the rest of them just because he could.

Yes, it is an old fashioned way to belittle a woman, but I guess they are wary of modern slurs over at MSNBC after the great success of "pimped out" during the Democratic primary.

I thought the term "used goods" referred to expendable people. Like ex-spouses, old employees, or washed up sports heroes. I never thought it was gender specific.

McCain chose Palin for her gender and looks. That was sexist.

Palin was and is the easiest target. She became the bullseye when she put her lipstick on notice.

I will agree that this is still a man's world. America is not ready for a woman president or vice president. Especially a ditsy one.

Dakini-- Michelle Obama is not beautiful. Now, she may have a nice big backside, but she is not a looker. And she dresses funny. She is very intelligent, though, and that is what separates her from Palin.

I only hope Michelle has half the class of Laura Bush.

rijaxn, I really like librarians and so have a crush on Laura Bush as well. Her note on Barney's stationary is a perfect example of her class.

My expectations for M. Obama are high. I think she will be an incredible first lady if "they" let her be and I hope she has the intestinal fortitude to stay on her path despite all the criticisms "they" make. I wanted her to be the candidate and not her husband. I hesitate to comment on her bum, but admire your candor.

Shame on Olbermann. I'm no fan of Palin, but he's wrong to categorize any woman that way. Used goods. I'm going to put a pox on him and find that e-mail address to his bosses to gripe. Thanks. His show will be used goods in my house. Sometimes I enjoyed his show, but if he's going to act like this...

Scruffus, I watch even the ones I dislike. I even listen to Rush Limbaugh. As I replied to Edgar, it is the packaging that interests me. Thanks for writing MSNBC. I have been writing them so often this past year about their election misogyny that I wonder if they have my email address flagged for auto deletion.

I sometimes wonder if we'll ever again have real news in America. I've yet to see a news media outlet that is interested in reporting the truth and not play spin doctor.
It is no surprise to me that the Republican hierarchy and the media are now trying to put the onus on Palin. After all, THEY'RE the ones that picked her to begin with. Worse, it was an afterthought - I'm convinced no-one had any idea that she'd be picked until just a few weeks before it was announced, and no-one did their homework to make sure she was prepared for the circus.
Don't get me wrong, I don't like the woman as a political candidate for any office - but the failure of the Republican campaign rests solely in the hands of the egocentric, bigoted old boys who were running it, and no-one else.

Rated/appreciated. Welcome back , LT. It's good to see your posts again.

Campbell Brown got it right.

Last night, in a segment of her show called "Cutting Through the Bull", she laid the blame squarely where it belongs - right in the laps of those very McCain campaign higher-ups who did a lousy job of vetting Palin in the first place, approved of her selection as candidate for a position she was in no wise prepared to fulfill, and then mis-handled her after she was chosen. And now, in an obvious CYA operation, they are trying to blame the monkey, instead of the organ grinder.

Bill S, Governor Palin will have the last laugh in this instance. She will eat these people alive. I do not agree with many of her positions, but she is tough and smart. If she indeed did not know all those things, it is due to ignorance, not stupidity. Governor Palin is young and has future.

Wayne, I think this particular monkey is going to pull a Barney the dog and have the last bite. I watched Olbermann twice to make sure I had heard everything correctly and missed Campbell Brown. Thanks for the head's up.

Only by using a white standard of beauty could Michele be considered "not beautiful". The first black lady and her family are going to teach America so much.
Time to bust this standard.

rated

No woman is used. This is such garbage. We need more women reading the news and commenting on TV.

I agree that "used goods" has gross connotations.

And now let me be shallow and say that I do think Michelle Obama is beautiful and dresses well (although I wasn't crazy about the black and red dress either). I'll temper the sexism of it by saying she is also brilliant.

I do think Sarah Palin was and continues to be ill-used by the power structure of the McCain campaign. I don't know that there is anything inherently wrong with pointing that out. I do think Keith Olberman is over the top at times but I think if Palin had been a man chosen for similarly callow and cynical reasons that hypothetical man would be scapegoated and maybe even referred to as "used goods" -- indicating that he had served his purpose (rallying the base) but had done more harm than good in the long run. The long knives would have been brought out for him as well. That is politics the world over. It is nasty and brutish. Getting thrown under the bus to salvage someone else's reputation is a risk one assumes by participating. In this context I think Keith meant "damaged goods" referring to her political image/brand. I do agree that the words "used goods" carry negative connotations when used to refer to women and Keith should have chosen his words more carefully, but I don't think his disdain was driven by sexism so much as it was by intellectual snobbery and superiority. He thinks Sarah Palin is a moron. A grasping, ambitious moron who lacks basic self-awareness. She's his new Bush (different anatomical parts -- but Bush nonetheless) and therefore the focus of his rage. I'm not saying Keith hasn't or never will say anything sexist, but I think people are reading too much into this incident. As rijaxn said -- her being expendable (and treated as such), not her femaleness is at the heart of the issue. Or are we being asked to equate "female" and "expendable"?

Bill S., in your search for "real news in America," you ought to check out the new PBS show "Worldfocus." Also, I don't know if you can get it on t.v. or the radio where you live, but Amy Goodman's daily Democracy Now! is a great program (I can only really vouch for the radio version, but I understand that the t.v. version is identical)

Jim Lehrer ain't that bad either, and Frontline is the best feature/documentary type news source available. Best of all, you can get access to all these programs without paying for cable or satellite television or radio (at least in the Atlanta market).

Although to their credit, many of those same people are crediting Clinton--at least to some extent--with Obama's win. I have read and heard from several sources the opinion that Clinton's tough primary made the difference for Obama.

I actually agree with o'stephanie regarding Michelle. May
wonders never cease.

rijaxn: while I also appreciate your candor, man, I thought
your comments sexist.

And I just hate it the way people manage to work in a
slam against Palin while denouncing the way she got
treated.

I agree with Bohica - Her problem is ignorance not
stupidity. I get a charge from her when I see her on
tv even though I don't agree with her politics.

Keith Olbermann can go over the top, it is true. However, I rarely miss his show, because he is certifiably smart, and I appreciate his ability to bring world-view and historical context to his comments. Sarah Palin is/was an empty vessel who clearly was advanced by a far-right group to further their own agenda. Shame on McCain for allowing this to happen. However, shame on Sarah Palin for buying into (pun intended) the opportunity to advance her personal ambition in an arena for which she was clearly not prepared, and to the potential detriment of the USA.

Sheryl, you may think she is an empty vessel, but these anonymous accusations do not make her so. What we do know about her is that she is a woman and as such, feminists and true progressives must stand up for her when sexist people like Olbermann slander her. Patriotism in the form of look at how bad she would have been for the country does not excuse calling her used or the other bashing she is taking so staffers can save their hides and blame someone other than themselves for a loss.

Dakini, I think it is safe to say that M. Obama is not beautiful and it has nothing to do with her race or biased societal standards. She is attractive and I find her strength especially so, but she is not beautiful. I wouldn't call her pretty or cute either. She is handsome and fiery. (Now I will be called sexist too)

Stellaa, I am not sure about Maddow. She is personally very impressive to me, but I also remember some of the garbage she said during the primary. The curse of a long memory.

Lainey, now it is fashionable to praise Senator Clinton, but where were these people during the primary when she was being called monstrous and a bitch by the media?

KH, I think the women here answered the question. When the phrase used goods is applied to a woman it takes on an added sexual dimension that is part of slut shaming. All well and good that it means something different for men, but Olbermann genius that he supposedly is knows better and was being sexist and probably deliberately so.

I think it's funny how different aesthetics can be, even in our era of highly standardized beauty. palin looks like many women in my family...specifically my cousin and my aunt. so I wouldn't call her ugly, but the idea of everyone wanting to have sex with her sort of gives me the willies.

I said in the primaries--in my letters for anyone who cares to check--that I think Hillary Clinton is physically beautiful and I stand by it. I guess some people don't see this in her because they don't want to see it...one of my friends last night was saying people "lie" by calling her ugly, and I tend to agree that if Hillary Clinton's personality were different and she "played cute" the way women are supposed to, her physical characteristics alone would be much more pleasing to most people. I see nothing physically to criticize I suppose other than that she's grown older (which is a crime to some.)

And with Michelle I think it's similar. Physically alone I see no feature that is not beautiful but her personality doesn't fit the standardized beauty mold. What I think is beautiful--physically in Michelle Obama's face is the way she seems to acknowledge the sadness and grief in the world. Some people don't like this, or they assume it's "anger" (as they do in Hillary)...but that's what I like about her face. And in Hillary, if I were going to write it into a characteristic, I would call it the won't take shit from anyone ever glow. I think that look became more pronounced by the end of her primaries run, but has been there forever.

Still, I don't expect the beautiful equals partly dumb and submissive to the male patriarchy meme (that gave a huge boost to the public perception of Palin's features--whatever they were physically alone to begin with--I wonder if those influenced by this found her quite as attractive during her "going rogue" stage...I suspect that they did not..) to go away anytime in my lifetime...

Ya know LT, I believe that context is "used" as in "used as a pawn" in a game of chess. I don't feel that was sexual innuendo if I'm reading you right. Not at all. If you want to put shame on TV Journalists, give equal time to Hannity, Limbaugh, Hume, Coulter and all the others that spew rhetoric daily. Bill Maher said it best. He called Palin a bimbo. Someone challenged him that it was misogynistic and he said, roll tape, I called Dan Quayle and George W. Bush "bimbos" too. Words don't always have one meaning.
"Used" is how I feel Sarah Palin was by the G.O.P. too and not by any means misogynistic.

Sorry to say it, but I agree with you, dolores. There's been a huge amount of change for women in this country in my lifetime, but absolutely no change in that meme you refer to: beautiful equals partly dumb and submissive to the male patriarchy. Just listen to random women talk, especially if they're talking to a man -- every sentence ends in a question?

Of course that means that a woman who wants something can frequently use the meme to her advantage; you can never use too big a shovel when manipulating a guy. But how pleasant it would be to be able to argue, and interrupt and raise my voice -- especially raise my voice! -- and not immediately become 'ugly' and 'shrill'.

Why? Eh, who knows. Vagina envy, fear for their penis, fear of being laughed at, unresolved Mother Issues (hell, I've got plenty, why shouldn't they?). I don't much care anymore, although it's empowering to hear someone talk about it.

(Full disclosure: I have a wonderful husband, and we've had a close, loving relationship for 28 years. Doesn't change the way of the world, though.)

Delores - you put it very well.

Palin is getting the same treatment from the left as Hillary
did from the right. I used to think that only right wingers
were snobs. No longer.

Good call Lt. rated

Thanks for posting this -- didn't see it until today, but yes, Olbermann's comments are, as usual, grotesque and sexist. I have no love for Palin, but it's as if we just can't make people see how the over-the-top nature of the critiques is absolutely related to her gender. Like, wow, they got another woman to vent their ugliness on -- just when they were running out of invectives against HRC.

I agree with you in that Olbermann has gotten too theatrical, but Palin is no patsy! She ate up her time in the sun like a seal.

I wouldn't have thought of the "used goods" comment as "slut shamming" until you brought it up--and I was a Hillary supporter for reasons that had nothing to do with her sex.

I agree...that was over the top way to put things.

However, to touch on some of the comments here...I do think Sarah Palin is smart but not in a good way, she is cunning and power hungry and because of her ideology grossly naive of the world. That might play just fine in Alaska (even though I am sure some people up there have a problem with that) but it doesn't play on a national stage. There are far more women who would better represent our country in the white house.

Let's face it, if Sarah was the republican candidate for president and Hillary was the democratic candidate...Hillary would have won in a landslide...my vote among them. I understand how many women feel jazzed about seeing another woman taking charge in a powerful setting...but I am just amazed how anyone can be a fan of this person. And if this was a man we were discussing...I'd be saying the same thing.

Did the McCain campaign use her...absolutely...but you better believe she was using them too. Everyone justifiably said that Obama needs to win via a landslide, just in case the Republicans pulled any tricks...I also believe now that the election is over, Palin needs to be caught under a rockslide...to keep her from getting out from the rubble. So if there is anything else that can keep her from "moving on up" I hope the media outs her...until someone else steps up to lead the party and she becomes the footnote her 15 minutes gave her.

And although beauty is subjective, I think Michelle Obama is beautiful! Her eyes, her smile the way she handles herself...yeah...she's a catch.

I've grown tired of Olberman. He takes such small, and often overhyped slights and makes a federal case over them.

Is he the left's answer to Bill O'Reilly? I can't stand either one of them and if liking Olberman is necessary to belong to some leftist club then I'm happy to not be a member. I do have a couple of wildly leftist friends who think that I'm 'incredibly ignorant' for not loving on Keith. Whatever... Duly noted.

Glenn, you are right...

Michelle, and all women have the ability to be beautiful. It's in the way they carry themselves and how they interact with others. I've known many stunning women who take your breath away with their outward beauty who are incredibly ugly and repulsive in how they interact with other people in their daily lives. Michelle will be head and shoulders above Laura and her pasted on smile and vacant eyes.