Thursday, May 27, 2004
Sex and (political) death in Washington
Unless you live inside the Beltway the chances are you probably haven't heard - and don't give a shit - about the latest "scandal" to rock Washington: the story of Jessica Cutler, a 24-year old receptionist at a Republican Senator's office, who's been moonlighting as a hooker and have detailed her encounters on (what else) a blog. Jessica's now been fired, but I'm sure she'll have a great career in the media or the entertainment industry, at least for 15 minutes (whatever happened to Monica Lewinsky?).
Do I have an opinion on the Cutler affair? Not particularly, except to note that small and isolated capital cities such as Washington and Canberra tend to develop an insular and incestuous culture, aided and abetted by the resident media, which turns everything into an in-joke or a scandal (or in this case, an in-joke scandal). Hence Iraq becomes all about "getting" a general responsible for the Abu Ghraib abuse, and S11 turns into a rush to pin the blame for the intelligence failure on the Bushies. And if all that sometimes becomes too tedious, there's always a 24-year old staffer who sleeps around for money.
I'll leave the final comment to Michelle Malkin:
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Do I have an opinion on the Cutler affair? Not particularly, except to note that small and isolated capital cities such as Washington and Canberra tend to develop an insular and incestuous culture, aided and abetted by the resident media, which turns everything into an in-joke or a scandal (or in this case, an in-joke scandal). Hence Iraq becomes all about "getting" a general responsible for the Abu Ghraib abuse, and S11 turns into a rush to pin the blame for the intelligence failure on the Bushies. And if all that sometimes becomes too tedious, there's always a 24-year old staffer who sleeps around for money.
I'll leave the final comment to Michelle Malkin:
"Cutler, who aspired to be a journalist, spouted: 'I'm sure I am not the only one who makes money on the side this way: How can anybody live on $25K/year??' When I was 24 and making less than that, I did it by eating Spaghetti-O's, Ramen noodles and Swanson pot pies for dinner; driving a Toyota Tercel with no air conditioning; and sleeping on a $30 futon. I did it the way most parents teach their daughters to succeed: through hard work, thrift, faith and perseverance."You're such a square, Michelle. That way you'll never get a write up on Wonkette, and isn't it everyone's life ambition to get there?
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