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Dr. Kaus puts Huffington on the couch to figure out why she got so peeved by Arnold's needling.
I've noticed this distressing character trait in Huffington, who can be extremely smart and charming, except when she's called on a select group of potential hypocrisy sore spots....My guess is it has something to do with the way Huffington has built her coalitions on personal relationships, cemented by invitations to excellent parties at her fabulous house, etc. When she's criticized by someone she's arguably friendly with (and Schwarzenegger , who lives a few blocks away, would fall into that category) she seems to regard it as a personal betrayal. I don't think Bustamante or McClintock would have triggered the same anger if they'd brought up the tax business.
In an earlier post Kaus had asked the money question: "Why did Arnold go after Arianna at all? When Arianna gets votes, remember, Bustamante loses votes, which helps Arnold."
Why is anger at criticism (and, in her view, unfair criticism) mockingly made by a friend on national TV considered to be a "distressing character trait"?
Posted by: Steve Smith at September 26, 2003 01:09 PMNobody would be surprised if they would read her books. Picasso becomes important first as a misogynist. Huffington gets quite huffy when encountering serial misogyny, yet also seems drawn to these types, and Arnold fits the mold. I think she got into the race precisely because the possibility of browbeating Arnold became a private fetish once the opportunity presented itself. Her conversion to corporate basher (omitted but implicit in her book "Pigs at the Trough" are the words "Male Chauvinist"--indeed, her politics are attacks on male dominated paradigms) is also another kind bashing of the overtly male, and her marriage to someone sexually unthreatening is a real psychological cincher. I'm voting for her anyway, maybe even because of these things. Our culture is still way too testosterone-heavy, even in California in 2003.
Posted by: joseph at September 26, 2003 01:56 PMRead the piece: The distressing character trait he refers to is her flashing anger whenever anyone brings up her "hypocrisy sore spots"...
Hypocrisy is a character trait in and of itself, and getting pissed off whenever someone calls you on it would qualify as same.
Posted by: Jones at September 26, 2003 02:29 PMI don't know that he's sophisticated enough to do it deliberately but Arnold DOES build Arianna up (and by implication cost Bustamante votes) simply by attacking her and treating her as a viable opponent. Look, here we are all talking about Arianna and raising her profile. It worked.
Posted by: Mr. Ricey at September 26, 2003 02:50 PMI don't think that a vote for Arianna is a vote for anything very feminine. She's about as womanly as an 18-wheeler.
Posted by: Kate at September 27, 2003 01:22 PM
Monica Almeida has the perspective of a native Angeleno who photographs Los Angeles for an East Coast newspaper: the New York Times.
of LA Observed
Weintraub did a live online chat this morning with Washingtonpost.com. Transcript: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A954-2003Sep25.html
Posted by: Reader at September 26, 2003 12:32 PM