Requesting Exemptions on Sympathy for Wolfowitz & "Media Whores"

[philly_bob]

I'm here to request two exemptions from my usual DU call for civility:

1. WOLFOWITZ. Even though the Paul Wolfowitz/Shaha Riza affair has some similarity to the Bill Clinton/Monica Lewinsky affair, I argue that there are enough differences that one who shouted "Move On" in the Clinton case is also justified in shouting "Get that SOB and get him good" in the Wolfowitz case. I have searched my soul, and I find not an ounce of sympathy for the neocon smarty-pants. I take immense satisfaction in his downfall. Does this make me no better than a Rush Limbaugh Clinton-Hater during Monicagate?

2. MEDIA WHORES. The pro-feminist arguments that words like "slut," "whore," "bitch" are to be avoided is pretty convincing. But it seems to me "whore" -- in the gender-neutral sense of someone who sells themselves for money -- is a fitting term for the mainstream media. For historical reasons, it would be dicey if it were applied to a female newscaster in a way that it sounded like a speculation on her personal life. But I think everyone knows that "Media Whore" is not about private sexual behavior; it's about a Berlusconi-style journalistic strategy that combines celebrity sensationalism with craven agreement to corrupt leadership. If the gender associations of "whore" are still too strong, what better term?