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'Are we ready to see Hillary age?'
RUDY Giuliani is no oil painting, nor is John McCain. Fred Thompson may have cracked it in Hollywood, but he's hardly leading man material.Barack Obama has those ears to contend with, while every time Joe Biden opens his mouth it's like watching an old episode of Mr Ed. Even pretty boy John Edwards is starting to show signs of wear. But according to the US's leading radio shock jock, Rush Limbaugh, it all matters little for the male presidential candidates, because when men age they look "more authoritative, accomplished and distinguished". What does matter, says Limbaugh, is that Hillary Clinton, who turned 60 in October, is starting to wrinkle. So on Monday, on a radio show with an audience of 14.5 million, Limbaugh asked this question about the former first lady's presidential prospects: "Will Americans want to watch a woman get older before their eyes on a daily basis?" The inspiration for this misogynistic king hit, one that says much about the kind of attention Senator Clinton can expect if she eventually becomes the Democratic nominee, was an unflattering photograph of her taken on the campaign trail in freezing New Hampshire at the weekend. The image was featured prominently on the home page of the Drudge Report website under the heading, "The Toll of the Campaign", and Limbaugh - whose past commentaries on Senator Clinton's campaign have included references to her "testicle lock box" - seized on its popular cultural significance. "I want you to understand that I'm talking about the evolution of American culture here, and not so much Mrs Clinton," Limbaugh told his audience. "It could be anybody, and it's really not very complicated. Americans are addicted to physical perfection, thanks to Hollywood and thanks to television. "We know it because we see it. We see everybody and their uncle in gyms. We see people starving themselves. We see people taking every miracle fad drug there is to lose weight. We see guys trying to get six-pack abs. "We have women starving themselves trying to get into size zero and size one clothes - makeovers, facials, plastic surgery, everybody in the world does Botox. "As you know, the haughty John Kerry Botoxed his wrinkles out during the (2004) campaign. "There is this thing in this country that, as you age - and this is particularly, you know, women are hardest hit on this, and particularly in Hollywood - America loses interest in you, and we know this is true because we constantly hear from ageing actresses, who lament that they can't get decent roles any more." Limbaugh, who manages to keep a career in radio courtesy of an Australian-made Cochlear ear implant, says any cursory look at the presidents elected before and after television is evidence of the importance of appearance in a society obsessed by appearance. "Look at presidents that we elected prior to TV, and presidents we elected after TV, and you will notice a huge difference," he said. "Do you think a bloated president could win? We had plenty of fat-guy presidents. Do you think one could get elected today? There's not a prayer! There isn't a prayer. "Remember when people said, 'The way to tell if (Al) Gore's really going to run is if he starts losing weight?' It's just what it is, folks. It's just what it is. Perfection, the appearance of perfection and good health, all of that ties into the perception of mental acuity, stamina, being able to hold up to the job." Senator Clinton says she understands the strong emotions her candidacy evokes, given the history of 220 years of presidential elections and 43 male presidents, but she dismisses gender as a motivation. "I'm not running because I'm a woman," she said in a recent interview. "I'm running because I think I'm the best qualified person." Posted by: tipper 2007-12-18 |
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