Arianna Huffington has decided that General David Petraeus is not up to snuff. More importantly, she feels he is “overrated.”
While criticism of the General is certainly a legitimate expression of democracy, before I read any column I look at the source. I have already sang the praises of David Petraeus, so in this case I would like to focus on Ms. Huffington, and her qualifications to evaluate this sterling military leader.
First of all, Ms. Huffington, to my knowledge, does not have a record of any significant professional accomplishments. She did become wealthy by being a shameless self promoter. I have no objection to this, due to my desire to do likewise. However, her current lifestyle is quite hypocritical.
For one thing, she blows with the winds. She was a right winger when Newt Gingrich was in power at the heigh of his popularity, and then as the republican revolution fell out of favor she became a rabid left winger. To me this shows somebody who is malleable, and not one with solid convictions. People can evolve, but rapid changes at an adult age show somebody that never formed strong beliefs to begin with.
She decries our culture of celebrity, but she became a celebrity by announcing she was a celebrity. She yelled it enough times and got enough people to listen.
The only reason anybody knows who her name is because her ex-husband had a failed run for the U.S. Senate in 1994 as a republican, in a year where republicans won nearly everywhere else. Her husband then divorced her, and openly declared his homosexuality. I mention this for biographical purposes only. This should never be used to impugn Ms. Huffington in any way. Her husband maintains she is a good mother, and that is the end of that issue.
Where it becomes relevant is whether or not her political beliefs were ever her own. Was she a republican solely out of support for her husband? Did she become a democrat out of anguish over her marriage breaking up to get back at him? For a woman who criticizes the current administration for secrecy, she does not reveal much about herself in terms of what makes her tick. This makes establishing her credibility more difficult.
The real problem is her string of failures. Upset with modern political conventions, she created a “Shadow Convention.” Virtually nobody attended it. It made Al Gore’s Earth concert seem lively and successful.
She ran for Governor, lambasting the very moderate republican Arnold Schwarzenegger as a right wing fanatic. She had less than one percent of the vote when she dropped out of the race.
She criticizes the wealthy and powerful special interests when she lives in a seven million dollar home. Now this may be poverty compared to John Edwards, but it is still lavish compared to most. She saves plenty of money on tax loopholes that she criticizes. She has every right to exploit tax loopholes. She loses credibility when she criticizes others for doing the same.
Simply put, she is an elitist. She was a right wing elitist, and now she is a left wing elitist. She married well, and continues to live well. Marrying a multi-millionaire is not a replacement for being a productive member of society. Some will say that her column is a success story. She writes an opinion column. The blogosphere is filled with people who do that every day. The standards are very low.
Lastly, her integrity can be questioned based on her blog, the Huffington Post. I have maintained that this blog along with Daily Kos and Moveon form the Axis of Antisemitism. Now I know this is a heavy charge to level, but people post on her blog that President Bush equals Adolf Hitler. This is antisemitism, and is indefensible.
She claims that she is not responsible for the hate speech that others post, but it is her site. Her name is on it. I am responsible for everybody who posts on my site. If I caught anybody taking cheap shots about her marriage, or anything else not related to her policy views, I would erase it. I am aware that she has hundreds of posters, but she has enough money to hire several people to constantly monitor the site. Hate speech should be immediately erased. It should not even have to wait overnight. She waits until somebody else such as Bill O’Reilly points it out. Having to be shamed into doing what is right is not the same as doing the right thing simply because one should.
I am not calling Ms. Huffington an antisemite. I am saying she tolerates antisemitism on her website. She is at the very least slow to condemn it.
She is entitled to he opinions, and I am entitled to refer to her as a hack. What else would one call a woman with no significant accomplishments attacking one of the finest military generals the United States has ever had? His record is superb. Hers is mediocre at best.
Yes, she has followers, but so did David Koresh. No, I am not calling her a killer, but just because some people listen to you does not make you a guru or an expert of any kind.
People have to be judged on actual results, and so far Ms. Huffington appears to be the Pied Piper of Pusillanimousness. She is the leader of the irrelevant. General David Petraeus will be taken seriously when he reports in September because he should be, based on his reputation and past deeds. For the exact same reasons, Ms. Huffington should continue to be ignored.
eric
I don’t decry Huffington her fame, if she is able to carve out a niche for herself, then by all means let her have it. However, I find the comparisons that the left (Huffington’s staff/etc included) continue to make between Bush and Hitler unbelievably naive. Of course, the term naive has been used so often in reference to the liberal mindset as of late, specifically in the arena of foreign policy, that I worry I might wear it out. Guess I’ll have to invest in a thesaurus.
I think you go overboard by tossing around names like Koresh, even if it is explicitly for the purpose of pointing out the absurdity of her qualifications. Don’t tapdance along the line for someone who so clearly isn’t worth it. Speaking of locomotion, albeit with a rhythm, when was the last time Ms. Huffington took public transportation?
This is probably very shallow, but I can’t get past her voice, sorry.
Trackbacked by The Thunder Run – Web Reconnaissance for 08/02/2007
A short recon of what’s out there that might draw your attention, updated throughout the day…so check back often.
I’m confused by this:
“Now I know this is a heavy charge to level, but people post on her blog that President Bush equals Adolf Hitler. This is antisemitism, and is indefensible.”
I do not understand how equating dubya to the infamies of Hitler can be antisemitism. And please believe me that I am NOT a dubya fan.