10/11/2002
This is what happens when a paper becomes so sensitive about appearing "too liberal" that it throw all news judgment out the window. The St. Pete Times reports that -- hold on your hat! -- Bill McBride made insensitive remarks. That's right. He told an off-color story. In private. Ten years ago. Oh yeah, and he had promptly apologized. In writing.
We were told this made listeners were "uncomfortable" (NO!) And that "he made a crude reference to a woman's breasts and indirectly referred to a man's genitals." ( Heavens to Betsy!) We, the sensitive readers, are spared the precise nature of this "crude reference" (tits? boobs? rack? bazongas?) or how indirect the reference to genitalia was. (A bulge in his pants the size of Buick?)
And, in fact, the survivors of the shocking incident couldn't quite remember just what he said. "Some details vary in the accounts of the incident offered by several lawyers, including the year it happened and the precise words that McBride used."
This would not remotely be news if not for an true gaffe made by Jeb! One that actually that really was insensitive, and had some bearing about on how he runs the state. One that was made in a public place, during a campaign and recent enough to be relevant.
In an attempt to appear evenhanded, the Times suggests some strange kind of equivalence here. I don't get it, myself.
We were told this made listeners were "uncomfortable" (NO!) And that "he made a crude reference to a woman's breasts and indirectly referred to a man's genitals." ( Heavens to Betsy!) We, the sensitive readers, are spared the precise nature of this "crude reference" (tits? boobs? rack? bazongas?) or how indirect the reference to genitalia was. (A bulge in his pants the size of Buick?)
And, in fact, the survivors of the shocking incident couldn't quite remember just what he said. "Some details vary in the accounts of the incident offered by several lawyers, including the year it happened and the precise words that McBride used."
This would not remotely be news if not for an true gaffe made by Jeb! One that actually that really was insensitive, and had some bearing about on how he runs the state. One that was made in a public place, during a campaign and recent enough to be relevant.
In an attempt to appear evenhanded, the Times suggests some strange kind of equivalence here. I don't get it, myself.
