Katie Couric attacks sexist coverage of Hillary Clinton, but she needs to look in the mirror

BE-ELECTED
by Chad Rubel

Katie Couric came out this week with an indictment of the sexism in the coverage of the presidential candidacy of Hillary Clinton. And she has a point.

Now that may come as a surprise. Not that there wasn't sexism, there definitely was sexism in the campaign. But the surprise comes that I might agree with Katie Couric.

As readers have come to know, I am not a member of the Katie Couric fan club. And it has nothing to do with her gender. There are dozens of women who could do a better job in that seat than Couric.

But Couric does have a distinct position with which to judge the sexism in the campaign: she is after all the managing editor and anchor of the CBS Evening News, and the only female in that role on a major broadcast network. And because of that distinction, her perspective on the coverage is valuable. In her own words:

"It isn't just Hillary Clinton who needs to learn a lesson from this primary season. It's all the people who cross the line, and all the women and men who let them get away with it."

And I wholeheartedly agree. Here's an example of a sexist question during the campaign:

"Someone told me your nickname in school was 'Miss Frigidaire'. Is that true?"

Who was the reporter who asked Hillary Clinton that question? Katie Couric.

There were a lot of horrible statements and questions said by the MSM, especially on TV. But that question to my sensibilities was one of the worst. It was degrading and insulting and sexist. And unlike many of the comments made by the TV pundits (as showcased well by The Daily Show), Couric's question was directed right to Hillary Clinton in person.

So if Couric is serious about how important it is to not "let them get away with it," perhaps the first person she should address is in the mirror. Et tu, Katie.