She wasn’t invited
Remember that Times article I quoted from yesterday about Trump’s plan to fire the DoJ guy who wasn’t helping him steal the election? Remember how cautiously worded it was, so that it took extra effort and attention to grasp that they were reporting on Trump’s effort to steal the election?
On the other hand, today, we get Maureen Dowd:
Jay Gatsby gave big, lavish, new-money parties at his sprawling mansion on the water because he wanted to seem cool. He wanted Daisy to notice him.
Barack Obama gave a big, lavish, new-money party at his sprawling mansion on the water because he wanted to seem cool. Being cool is important to him.
On the one hand corrupt criminal evil man tries to steal election, on the other hand man who is none of those things…has a birthday party.
Is this high school? What did she write that for? Why didn’t the editor ball it up and throw it back at her desk?
I know, news and editorial are separate, opinion writers have a lot more freedom to be snide and worse than snide than reporters do, but all the fucking same. Obama had a party. That’s it? That’s what you’ve got?
It’s hard to stop thinking about the over-the-top fete the former president held at his Martha’s Vineyard manse for his 60th birthday.
No it isn’t. It’s dead easy. Dowd was stuck thinking about it because it was such hard work to justify whining about it.
I mean yes, Obama is a rich dude now, and he knows a lot of famous people. No shit. But is that really such a hot issue that it’s worth griping about when there are rather more serious issues available?
We already knew Obama gravitated to stars but it was disillusioning to see it on such a grand scale last weekend.
Not if you paid no attention it wasn’t. You don’t actually have to care about what stars Obama invited to his party.
One could easily argue that the Peace Prize President (and his minions, including Hillary Clinton) are by most definitions “evil” for their policy and actions in Libya alone. And the tackiness of his 6,000 s.f. gaudy mansion on the island, along with his 8,000 s. f. Chicago townhouse, along with…is certainly worthy of comment…at least among those who consider themselves “lefties”. I agree with JACOBIN’S opinion of the Peace Prize Friend of Wall Street and War. (While acknowledging how horrific Trump was)
What’s one 60th birthday party compared Mr. Golfy- Party-Rally-Pants every freaking week for four years?
Obama is no hero, for sure, but Geez Louise.
Is there actually anyone in the world who would not book their favourite musical artists and their favourite location for a private event, if they could? I mean, if I had Rammstein or Element of Crime or Keaton Henson or Hozier or Hugh Laurie (yes yes *that* Hugh Laurie) on speed dial, I would have one or all of them at *my* birthday party, and wouldn’t feel one whit of guilt over it. And neither would any of these preening self-described “journalists”.
And what’s with the “new money” sneering? I’m not one to drag race into everything, but, really, Dowd is going to knock the first Black president for having the gall to come from a family that did not have generational wealth?
Dowd is just pissed that she wasn’t invited.
There is no better job security on this planet than being an NYT or WaPo op-ed columnist. You can spend years phoning it in and writing utter trash and keep your well-paid job.
PBS may be a pretty close rival though – treating David Brooks as a useful in some never specified way commentator all these years. David Brooks??? Why him of all people? A male Maureen Dowd.
Seth: you have a point. And I don’t want to sound like I am disagreeing with the main point that Dowd is the epitome of awfull reporting and editorializing.
Apparently, Matt Taibbi wasn’t invited, either:
https://www.inquisitr.com/6495075/matt-taibbi-blasts-barack-obama-as-one-of-the-great-political-li
I somewhat share Taibbi’s disdain for the Peace Prize President. Let’s not forget Libya…and deportations…and craven submission to Wall Street.