GIRL GONE WILD

As little as I care about Wonkette, I actually have managed to care even less about all this Washingtonienne* business. I'm really tired of it all, and I hope it goes away soon. (As tired as I am of seeing Tim Russert promote his "Big Russ" book? More so.) Though the Washington Post's Richard Lieby brought Washingtonienne (that is, former Sen. DeWine (R-OH) staffer Jessica Cutler) to the attention of Fox News and MSNBC, it was appropriately (or should that be inappropriately?) enough, Wonkette who made her famous. And that's part of the problem.

If you've read Washingtonienne, the first thing you've noticed is that it isn't especially well-written. Wonkette first called her DC's Belle de Jour, but the difference is Belle is an interesting writer with a rich inner life and the language skills to express it. Washingtonienne is clever on occasion, but the only reason anyone paid attention to it was for the salacious bits. It's the only reason Wonkette bothered to pick it up. (Also, Cutler is not that hot. My female co-workers agree.) At worst her blog could all be a lie; at best it's a waste of time. Really, most of it is like:

I woke up with an awful hangover and barfed up my Pizza Mart. (I'm losing weight!) Then RS drove me home and made me promise to call him again today.

It's not my idea of a must-read. Nor is it a favorite of syndicated columnist Michelle Malkin, who is too conservative for me on most days, but whose new column is like a breath of fresh air. I disagree with some of Malkin's conclusions, but after a week of ever-widening and ever more insipid coverage of this pseudo-scandal, I'll welcome just about any dissenting voice:

Cutler's indecent conduct, glib rationalizations and in-your-face shamelessness, and the accompanying feeding frenzy over her, deserve a firm outside-the-Beltway lashing. ... The news media originally caught whiff of Cutler from an online D.C.-based gossip site, Wonkette.com, authored by "edgy" (read: profanity-laced and sex-obsessed) writer Ana Marie Cox, who herself has been recently touted extensively by adoring media fans. ... [G]ive The Washington Post two vain, young, trash-mouthed skanks who couldn't care less about what their parents think of their sex-drenched infamy, and the newspaper can't wait to help make them full-fledged members of the media elite.

Remember Paul Kelly Tripplehorn, the last Hill staffer whose sex life made it into the DC gossip colums? I sure do. That was great fun, because he got exactly what he deserved. I'm not sure what Cutler deserves, but I am pretty sure it doesn't include a book contract.
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*Not familiar? See the entire last week of Wonkette, or just read this. Archive of the now-defunct blog here.

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posted by WWB at 1:27 PM |