Politics Is Ugly, Part 2

Brace yourself. It’s no secret that I’m not one of her biggest fans, but I’m defending Hillary Clinton. Because her opponent, John “Why Are You Wasting Your Time” Spencer, crossed the line. He told a reporter, in reference to Ms. Clinton’s days at Wellesley College, “You ever see a picture of her back then? Whew. I don’t know why Bill married her.” He added quickly, “She looks good now,” but credited it to “millions of dollars” in plastic surgery.

For one, this is a vicious personal attack beyond words. And anyone without a prayer in the world of winning an election should know better than to give himself even less of a chance. I guarantee that among the few people who will be pulling his lever, none of them will be women. It’s just unforgivable and cruel to bring somebody’s personal appearance into play. No matter what their politics.

For two, who the hell CARES if she had plastic surgery? The only reason I would get huffy about this is if she used taxpayer money to foot the bill (which she did not). It’s her own damned business and everyone should just shut up about it.

There are plenty of other things to get huffy about – her record in New York, the fact that once she gets re-elected, she will begin her campaign for the White House, which will leave the state with one (very busy) Senator – but her appearance – anyone’s appearance - is and should be off-limits. Yes, this is a shallow culture and appearance is everything and people are getting BoToxed until they can no longer blink, but HANDS OFF. Nobody rakes men over the coals about their personal appearance, and if they do, the end up sounding petty and ridiculous. Why should it be different for women?

And, sadly, we still have a week to go.