When the New York Times' Maureen Dowd is right about something, it's worth pointing out: rarely does the liberal editorialist for the nation's "paper of record" write something on which conservatives can generally concur.
Ms. Dowd's column in Sunday's Times was one of those rarities.
In it, she examines the last-minute dirt from the California recall saga that has been released about Arnold Schwarzenegger's treatment of women and, especially, the hypocrisy involved among those politicos defending and accusing the actor/politician.
Of those excusing Arnold's behavior, Dowd writes, "Now Republicans who thundered against Bill [Clinton] - not Arnold, who scorned impeachment as a waste of time and money - argue that peccadilloes are not relevant to governing."
Granted, liberals like Dowd are certain the impeachment of Bill Clinton was all about sex. It wasn't. But Republicans also filled the roll of the offended opposition that was appalled by an elected official who would act the way the President did. And they were right to be offended. However, their offense by such actions should not stop at the Party's edge. There was a valid reason conservative GOPers were upset over the immoral actions of Bill Clinton, and there is a valid reason that many conservatives are upset about the alleged and admitted actions of Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Even more interesting in Dowd's column are her remarks about the hypocrisy of the women of the Left. Consider these quotes (emphasis added):
- "When the star's female accusers were recycled in the L.A. Times, Democratic women's groups - already in full cry against Arnold for being boorish despite his un-Bushian moderate stances on women's issues - howled even louder. They rejected his apology and explanation that he was just being 'playful' when he grabbed several left breasts out of left field over the decades."
- "At the Davis rally [in West Hollywood], Senator Clinton chose not to defend the groper who was not her husband. Ms. Richards chose not to defend the groper who was not a Democrat; in 1998, the former Texas governor shrugged off Mr. Clinton's louche behavior: 'If we try to retire every man from office who's done what he did, we wouldn't need affirmative action.'"
- "And feminists who backed Bill are ushering Arnold gropees up to the Democratic microphones."
- "Certainly, the bodybuilder-turned-phenom has had moments of being, to use David Letterman's word, a lunkhead. But I find the selective outrage of feminists just as offensive.
"Feminism died in 1998 when Hillary allowed henchlings and Democrats to demonize Monica as an unbalanced stalker, and when Gloria Steinem defended Mr. Clinton against Kathleen Willey and Paula Jones by saying he had merely made clumsy passes, then accepted rejection, so there was no sexual harassment involved. As to his dallying with an emotionally immature 21-year-old, Ms. Steinem noted, 'Welcome sexual behavior is about as relevant to sexual harassment as borrowing a car is to stealing one.'
"Surely what's good for the Comeback Kid is good for the Terminator."
The Right can declare the hypocrisy of the Left until the cows come home - and we will - but when one of the Left's premier voices does so, it is all the sweeter. The key, of course, is to avoid being hypocritical ourselves.
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