Joan Walsh: First Daughters Off Limits (Unless They're Named Bush)
by John Sexton
26 Mar 2013
Today Joan Walsh posted an attack on our own Matt Boyle. She complained he had violated an unwritten rule of journalism by revealing the President's daughters were vacationing in the Bahamas. Joan explained "Reporters dont write about minor first children except when theyre attending 'official or semi-official events.'" She also quotes a Washington Post reporter on the point:
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Surprisingly, Walsh's understanding of what constitutes respect was somewhat different during the Bush administration. In 2001 she wrote a piece for Salon titled "The First Family's Alcohol Troubles." The post uses reports of the first daughters partying and drinking as a pretext to attack their father's drinking history. The piece is illustrated with a large photo of Jenna Bush laughing. It's not clear where the photo was taken but in context it's clearly an attempt to depict Jenna Bush as drunk. Joan wrote:
Theres no evidence either twin has a drinking problem, but the string of news items involving their partying and scrapes with the law in the last few months cant be ignored. First came the tale of Secret Service agents ferrying home Jennas boyfriend after he was arrested for public drunkenness. Then there were randy National Enquirer photos of Jenna, a University of Texas freshman, and a beer-drinking pal, and a story about her alleged marijuana use. Yale freshman Barbara, supposedly the studious twin, had a false I.D. confiscated at a New Haven, Conn., bar. In April, the Enquirer featured a lurid tale of Barbaras drunken spring-break binge in Mexico, and by the end of the month all major newspapers were carrying a story about Jenna being cited by police at an Austin bar for underage drinking, while Secret Service agents waited outside.
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Id bet there hasnt been enough communication in the WASP-y Texas Bush family, and it looks as if the first twins are acting out as a result. Even with a Secret Service detail, there are ways for young women to party, if theyre discreet. Clearly, the first twins arent. Their blatant risk-taking and public partying (the Secret Service waits outside the bars where they drink illegally?) seem designed to force a family reckoning that their fathers drinking never triggered.
Is this what respect looks like?
Joan Walsh: First Daughters Off Limits (Unless They're Named Bush)
