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My Salon premium membership ran out yesterday, and here I was wondering if it was appropriate for me to forgive-and-forget with Joan's destructive cheerleading during the last days of the primary.
Joan Walsh claims that she dared to "criticize" Obama, neglecting the fact that she became a mouthpiece for the Clinton campaign, repeating whatever line they wanted repeated, because (she basically admitted) gender politics trumped everything else. Walsh
Absent from Joan's writing is any sort of mea culpa, any recognition that she did anything wrong. Her attacks are, in her head, re-imagined as legitimate criticism. Intead, we're supposed to find it surprising that she thinks Clinton is a good choice for something - shocking. Joan Walsh supports Clinton in whatever Clinton wants to do! Stop the press!
It would have been very nice to see Walsh make an honest appraisal of her own behavior during the campaign season, rather than pretend she was acting as some sort of neutral journalist asking questions. She wants to support Clinton for SoS? Why not. A reasonable claim could be made that's she a great candidate. Of course, Walsh doesn't make that argument. Instead she wants us to "trust" Obama.
But Joan, weren't you the one who refused to trust Obama as recently as last summer, arguing that he didn't deserve the benefit of the doubt? You certainly never gave him one. This is a very convenient about-face for you.
And that makes my own decision easy. No renewal for me, not while you're at the helm.
