President Barack Obama commended California Attorney General Kamala Harris at a Democratic National Committee fundraising event, introducing her as “brilliant,” “dedicated” and “tough.”
Then he added a quip about her being “by far, the best-looking attorney general,” sparking general unwarranted outrage from various bloggers and on social media.
Really? The nation doesn’t have its hands full enough with the current sequester, Jindal’s new tax plan and Kim Jong-un’s continuing threats to nuke the world?
The most disturbing thing is that I can’t find Harris’ reaction anywhere.
Maybe she chose not to react. Maybe she thought doing so would incite a negative reaction in the factions of Californians.
If I had access to her response, I’d be able to gauge mine more aptly, because if Harris found it offensive, I would support her.
She alone knows how it affected her, and if she’s choosing not to make this a political issue — one that could skyrocket her to the forefront of the feminist battlefront — then I’m going to say she feels fine about it.
She accepted the apology.
But if this did make Harris uncomfortable, and she feels like leaking that through a spokesperson or letting us know herself, then I’d support her, no matter how much of a political ploy it is.
Because maybe that’s what this is. Maybe Obama planned this with Harris, to show he makes mistakes, like an honest man, and knows how to apologize for them.
Or maybe this is part of Harris’ plan to overtake Hillary Clinton in popularity, with Harris potentially revealing later this week that she feels wounded by the president’s statement, and calling for a movement in her party toward ever-greater equality.
Yeah, I know, that would be complete bull.
In the public eye, she would have every right to do that, though, as the first African-and Asian-American female attorney general in California.
Maybe that’s far-fetched, but I’d prefer one of these to be true over what’s happening right now.
I’d like to believe the hype is over something bigger than Obama cracking a joke.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s great there’s a heightened level of sensitivity to gender equality, but this pushes it entirely too far.
We don’t need to get our collective hackles up about every tiny little joke that comes a female’s way.
Normally I don’t side with people who demean these incidences relating to any sort of rights issue, but here, something is off.
I’m not writing off the entire feminist movement. The issue is that this incident cheapens the valid ideals of feminists worldwide, and makes them look like crazed women out for blood wherever possible.
The Should-He-Call-Her-Pretty argument in this instance marginalizes the currently hot topic of abortion and other female rights issues, and here’s where Obama responded in the right way.
He apologized for the level of distraction he caused by commenting on her appearance. That’s all he needed to do.
It actually isn’t an apology at all. It’s a subtle way of showing this is not something for which he needs to apologize.
Obama sets a good precedent for future episodes of popular craziness. Because in cases like this, we just need to turn the other cheek and move along, focusing on actual politics.
Megan Dunbar is a 19-year-old English junior from Greenville, S.C.
FILE - This Nov. 16,2012 file photo shows California Attorney General Kamala Harris speaking during a news conference in Los Angeles. President Barack Obama praised Harris for more than her smarts and toughness at a Democratic Party event Thursday, April 4, 2013. The president also commended Harris for being "the best-looking attorney general" during a Democratic fundraising lunch in the Silicon Valley.(AP Photo/Richard Vogel,File)
