Presidential candidate John Edwards decided today not to fire his two recently hired bloggers. They told him they never intended to offend anyone or disparage anyone’s religion, and he takes them at their word. End of story. At least in the mainstream media.
The standards of journalism and of civilized society don’t allow general circulation newspapers or broadcast media outlets to convey the level of obscenity, malevolence and bigotry that permeates the blog posts of Amanda Marcotte (Pandagon) and Melissa McEwan (Shakespeare’s Sister), the two women Edwards feels are essential to his presidential run. If you consume your news only from mainstream outlets, you’re reaction to this is probably, “OK, so what’s the big deal. Let’s move on.”
Edwards, Marcotte and McEwan issued bland statements that gloss over the worst of their blog offenses and disingenuously soft-pedal their bigotry, knowing that no mainstream outlet would ever print what they actually said. Marcotte’s “apology” included this:
My writings on my personal blog, Pandagon on the issue of religion are generally satirical in nature and always intended strictly as a criticism of public policies and politics. My intention is never to offend anyone for his or her personal beliefs, and I am sorry if anyone was personally offended by writings meant only as criticisms of public politics. Freedom of religion and freedom of expression are central rights, and the sum of my personal writings is a testament to this fact.
McEwan’s statement included this:
Shakespeare’s Sister is my personal blog, and I certainly don’t expect Senator Edwards to agree with everything I’ve posted. We do, however, share many views — including an unwavering support of religious freedom and a deep respect for diverse beliefs. It has never been my intention to disparage people’s individual faith, and I’m sorry if my words were taken in that way.
Here’s what Edwards had to say about the two women’s blog posts:
The tone and the sentiment of some of Amanda Marcotte’s and Melissa McEwen’s posts personally offended me. It’s not how I talk to people, and it’s not how I expect the people who work for me to talk to people. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but that kind of intolerant language will not be permitted from anyone on my campaign, whether it’s intended as satire, humor, or anything else.
Even now, you, the reader, don’t understand the level of invective and juvenile profanity that permeates the blogs of these two women. That’s one of the failings of mainstream journalism, but not one that I hold against the MSM. I’m all for standards geared toward a family audience.
But before you take the what’s-the-big-deal approach to this, I encourage you to Google the names of these two women and see for yourself. And ask yourself, if Edwards wins, will Amanda and Melissa end up in the West Wing as part of the press operation? I can’t wait to see the press releases.
And if either one of them ever guests on “Hardball” with Chris Matthews, get ready to cover your children’s ears.
Jon Ham is vice president of the John Locke Foundation and publisher of its newspaper, Carolina Journal.