Golden Needles in Our Eyes

Molly I has the Dowd beat covered. But Dowd is to Camille Paglia as a candle is to the Sun, or as a mildly narcissistic chipmunk is to Ann Althouse.

Paglia has a column in Salon because the editors of Salon hate you. Here are her latest dribblings on the subject of HRC:

Hillary's stonewalling evasions and mercurial, soulless self-positionings have been going on since her first run for the U.S. Senate from New York, a state she had never lived in and knew virtually nothing about. The liberal Northeastern media were criminally complicit in enabling her queenlike, content-free "listening tour," where she took no hard questions and where her staff and security people (including her government-supplied Secret Service detail) staged events stocked with vetted sympathizers, and where they ensured that no protesters would ever come within camera range.

See, this is funny, because as an actual resident of upstate New York, I went to one of HRC's events when she was campaigning for Senate against noted snotnosed twerp Rick Lazio. It was at a fairly large restaurant/banquet hall. Oddly enough, right outside the restaurant, there were about a dozen protesters... and they were in camera range! Also,  HRC gave a brief talk, and then took unscripted  questions from the audience, comprised of local people, and while some of the questions were fluff, some of them were tough questions about what she would do to help the local economy! (As an aside, HRC for whatever reason comes across much more stiffly on TV than in person -- in person she can be quite charismatic.)

Paglia is nuts. HRC won in NY because she ran a smart, tough campaign upstate -- which can be as conservative as any red state anywhere. Paglia is talking about a subject upon which she is entirely ignorant and trading on stereotypes, quelle surprise. In a weird way this sort of plays to HRC's advantage, as it did in NY: all she has to do is show up and be different from the misogynist caricature, and she impresses. I saw this happen at that restaurant first-hand.

And Hillary has a sycophantic press...? Occasionally, yes, she gets a puff piece, but on the whole, wow, that's crazy. She has people like Paglia writing this vapid bullshit about her all the time, for openers. Beyond that I submit as evidence 1991-2000.

And  it gets worse:

That compulsive micromanagement, ultimately emanating from Hillary herself, has come back to haunt her in her dismaying inability to field complex unscripted questions in a public forum. The presidential sweepstakes are too harsh an arena for tenderfoot novices. Hillary's much-vaunted "experience" has evidently not extended to the dynamic give-and-take of authentic debate. The mild challenges she has faced would be pitiful indeed by British standards, which favor a caustic style of witty put-downs that draw applause and gales of laughter in the House of Commons. Women had better toughen up if they aspire to be commander in chief.

I mean, holy shit:

There's more, especially some giggly nonsense about Dianne Feinstein and a dose of ignorant bullshit about global warming (which is false because of Hurricane Camille in 1969). But overall Paglia is, characteristically, as lucid as a coked-up Larry King, only without the deft segues.

Remember: Camille Paglia writes for Salon because the editors of Salon hate you.

UPDATE: Althouse chimes in. Video of a conversation between Althouse and Paglia is here.

[Note: edited to maximize snark]

Comments

[Phila]

mercurial, soulless self-positionings

It's odd how much Paglia likes it when Madonna does it...

[jerry]

This is a genuine question that I ask out of concern. When I look at Camille Paglia's picture at Salon with it's characteristic smirk, and examine her writing (and presumably her thinking), I worry for her. She's not getting any younger, and will anyone be able to tell if she's had a stroke?

[coozledad]

When I looked at Camille Paglia's picture at Salon, my first thought was, God. David Byrne sure could use a nap.

[RodeoBob]

Paglia's columns all read like they were thrown together as some sort of writing scavenger hunt. She's got this list of things that have to be in every column, and she has to hammer it all in somehow:

*Claim to be a feminist

*Attack the democrats. (but don't mention Republicans at all!)

*Claim to be liberal and/or mention that she votes Democrat

*Name drop celebrities

*Mention Sexual Personae, or at least one other of her books

*Dispute science with how 'mystical' she feels.

*Prop up any one of the following conservative media elents: Rush, Hannity, Fox News, Politico, Drudge.

10 years ago, this crap was 'edgy'. Now it's just a second-rate cull from somebody's awful LiveJournal.

[Molly Ivors]

But is Hillary more Apollonian or Dionysian?!?

I HAVE TO KNOW!!!!!

[JoeCHI]

Paglia has a column in Salon because the editors of Salon hate you.

Fucking hilarious!

;)

[coozledad]

That's easy. Hillary is the stern Apollonian figure, not likely to listen to Madonna, whereas Bill would likely be able to convince Madonna that she is his intellectual equal, despite the fact she didn't write Sexual Personae.

[steve simels]

I'm sorry, the fact that Paglia's a large idiot does not predispose me to want Hillary as the Democratic nominee.

Seriously -- the more I think about the prospect, I want to scream. It's like everybody I like suddenly has this insane death wish...

[K. Ron Silkwood]

Following the Althouse link: "Hey, remember the time Camille Paglia refused to have dinner with me?"

HFC, everything Althouse writes comes around to be about her.

Steve Simels: I don't support HRC either. But liberals made a huge mistake in the 1990s by not reacting aggressively to the BS wingnuttery about her, and Bill, about whom I am also not a total fan. Leaving that stuff alone just let wingnuttia fester.

Anyway, Giuliani would quite literally kill us all, and my money (not my preference) now is that will be the race. And Rudy would be even worse than Shrub. He lacks W's gravitas.

Not kidding, either...

[trifecta]

Rudy is pretty fucking scary. NPod and Bolton don't have to give Cheney a reach around to get to the President in a Rudy administration. He would seriously let the lunatics rule the asylum.

There is a danger for those of us who object to Hillary Clinton's policies tolerating dumb shit sexist attacks on her, just because it might further our goals of defeating her.

[¡BatBoy!]

...or as a mildly narcissistic chipmunk is to Ann Althouse

¿Joo mean, sometheeng for her to eat?

(skree skree)

[bbbustard]

Feeling the hate, ...

[Molly Ivors]

But liberals made a huge mistake in the 1990s by not reacting aggressively to the BS wingnuttery about her, and Bill, about whom I am also not a total fan. Leaving that stuff alone just let wingnuttia fester.

My point as well. We have to call it. Every. Fucking. Time.

[verplanck colvin]

I was also upstate during the election, and though I didn't vote for her, I was sick and tired of Rick Lazio screech "carpetbagger!" every chance he got.

I bet you she could have lost if Lazio would have stopped Hillary-hating and get on talking about issues that rural people care about, cost of living, health care....

...heh. who am I kidding?

[Molly Ivors]

I bet you she could have lost if Lazio would have stopped Hillary-hating and get on talking about issues that rural people care about, cost of living, health care...

Possibly, but since the Republican platform is "suck it up, rubes!", maybe not.

[Guest]

Wow. Ann Althouse writing about Camille Paglia. There is no way the World has more than another week, two at best.

[P. Drano]

"Hey, remember the time Camille Paglia refused to have dinner with me?"

Oh, good Lord, don't I? It made me think of the time Madonna refused to lunch with Camille Paglia--I remember exactly what I was doing then, listening to the radio. I went into the next room and told my father, and we just stood there for a few minutes, not knowing what to do.

[SteveB]

There is a danger for those of us who object to Hillary Clinton's policies tolerating dumb shit sexist attacks on her, just because it might further our goals of defeating her.

Well, I suppose it's true I "tolerate" attacks on Hillary in the same sense that I'm "tolerating" the military crackdown in Burma - that is, I'm not doing a damn thing about it.

But, see, the problem is that we all have limited reserves of time and energy, and maybe if Hillary hadn't voted for the Kyl-Lieberman "attack Iran" bill, or maybe if she hadn't said that she can't be sure she'd get our troops out of Iraq over the next five years, then I might be able to summon up some outrage at the attacks on her.

But I can't. Sorry, but you'll just have to be outraged without me.

[dave™©]

I'm shocked - SHOCKED - to find that one batshit crazy failed academic bulldyke would wax rhapsodic about another batshit crazy failed academic bulldyke.

The question now is, when does Salon hire Blithering Misogynist Idiot, too?

[Thers]

Hee hee. At least hang out and enjoy the snarking.

[Shell Goddamnit]

"It made me think of the time Madonna refused to lunch with Camille Paglia--I remember exactly what I was doing then, listening to the radio. I went into the next room and told my father, and we just stood there for a few minutes, not knowing what to do."

That is beautiful. It's like I was there with you.

[Thers]

It made me think of the time Madonna refused to lunch with Camille Paglia--I remember exactly what I was doing then, listening to the radio. I went into the next room and told my father, and we just stood there for a few minutes, not knowing what to do.

This is pretty much why I have a blog.

[Henry Holland]

Conversation the other day:

Friend: Who you voting for in 2008?
Me: Whoever the Democrats elect.
Friend: Even Clinton?
Me: Does she have a pulse?
Friend: Um....yeah.
Me: That's all I need to know. And if you give me the Naderite "They're all the same" bullshit, I'll punch you.
Friend: [Pause] Um, so who do you think the Angels will have at third base next season?

[kindness]

Molly Ivins had the best take on Camille Paglia I ever howled over.
Here's a link.

[Uncle Kvetch]

This comment thread is a thing of beauty. Paglia brings out the worst in you people, by which, of course, I mean the best.

Kisses & hugs to you all.

[logic101]

I would like to thank Henry Holland for the link to Molly I's totally hilarious musings on Camille Paglia. I needed that. I am still laughing even as I admire her beautifully crafted piece.

Thank you ever so, as we say in Hollywood.

I haven't heard about Paglia for years -- obviously I don't read the publications she writes for -- if she does -- but I was musing about her the other day, wondering if her head had exploded yet over Hillary's lead in the polls. It's just a little bonus we would get from electing Hillary.

[zuzu]

I love the bit about her promoting DiFi as a more appropriate woman candidate. Leaving aside how ridiculous the notion of DiFi having principles is, what is this, Highlander?

[flory]

I hate you.
You made me click on an Althouse link.
And then I found myself agreeing with Althouse.
Paglia is to intelligent discourse as a leech is to an MRI.

[Batocchio]

That video exceeded my expectations.