• Menu
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Before Header

  • About Us
  • Lexicon
  • Contact Us
  • Our Store
  • ↑
  • ↓
  • ←
  • →

Balloon Juice

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

The revolution will be supervised.

They’re not red states to be hated; they are voter suppression states to be fixed.

Usually wrong but never in doubt

“Jesus paying for the sins of everyone is an insult to those who paid for their own sins.”

Conservatism: there are some people the law protects but does not bind and others who the law binds but does not protect.

Accused of treason; bitches about the ratings. I am in awe.

After roe, women are no longer free.

Republicans are the party of chaos and catastrophe.

Jesus, Mary, & Joseph how is that election even close?

If you tweet it in all caps, that makes it true!

Not so fun when the rabbit gets the gun, is it?

The GOP is a fucking disgrace.

When your entire life is steeped in white supremacy, equality feels like discrimination.

I really should read my own blog.

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires republicans to act in good faith.

I did not have this on my fuck 2022 bingo card.

He really is that stupid.

“Everybody’s entitled to be an idiot.”

Nancy smash is sick of your bullshit.

Wow, I can’t imagine what it was like to comment in morse code.

Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.

You cannot shame the shameless.

Sitting here in limbo waiting for the dice to roll

I’m sure you banged some questionable people yourself.

Mobile Menu

  • Winnable House Races
  • Donate with Venmo, Zelle & PayPal
  • Site Feedback
  • War in Ukraine
  • Submit Photos to On the Road
  • Politics
  • On The Road
  • Open Threads
  • Topics
  • Balloon Juice 2023 Pet Calendar (coming soon)
  • COVID-19 Coronavirus
  • Authors
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Lexicon
  • Our Store
  • Politics
  • Open Threads
  • War in Ukraine
  • Garden Chats
  • On The Road
  • 2021-22 Fundraising!
You are here: Home / MoDo Needs A Hug

MoDo Needs A Hug

by John Cole|  January 10, 20106:32 pm| 133 Comments

This post is in: Assholes

FacebookTweetEmail

This is nauseating, even by her standards:

He’s so sure of himself and his actions that he fails to see that he misses the moment to be president — to be the strong father who protects the home from invaders, who reassures and instructs the public at traumatic moments.

I think I just threw up in my mouth.

FacebookTweetEmail
Previous Post: « NFL Open Thread
Next Post: Must See TV »

Reader Interactions

133Comments

  1. 1.

    Dannie22

    January 10, 2010 at 6:33 pm

    And she gets paid to write such mindless drivel.

  2. 2.

    ominira

    January 10, 2010 at 6:35 pm

    And we’re reading her and giving her more eyeballs. Ignore her and eventually she will go away. I hope. Sigh.

  3. 3.

    SIA

    January 10, 2010 at 6:35 pm

    I read this in NYT this morning – when I saw that passage I stopped reading for-evah. Ms Dowd needs a long sabbatical with three sessions a week with a good therapist to work out all her daddy issues.
    Gak.

  4. 4.

    Kobie

    January 10, 2010 at 6:39 pm

    So, in other words, because Obama’s busy attempting to get shit done instead of parading around on a flight deck with a codpiece like Bush, he’s somehow not “being President”?

  5. 5.

    freelancer

    January 10, 2010 at 6:39 pm

    No doubt, if I were 60 years older, I would be inexplicably attracted to Ms. Dowd, as I am fated to get involved with girls with huge Daddy issues.

  6. 6.

    schrodinger's cat

    January 10, 2010 at 6:39 pm

    NYT needs better columnists, actually I think Tunch would be an improvement over Brooks, chunky Brooks, mustache of wisdom and MoDo.

  7. 7.

    ellie

    January 10, 2010 at 6:40 pm

    I have never seen so many delicate flowers. What the hell happened to Americans?

  8. 8.

    Zifnab25

    January 10, 2010 at 6:41 pm

    Nice work if you can get it.

    I would really like to meet the psyche ward that holds Ms Dowd’s target audience.

  9. 9.

    Max

    January 10, 2010 at 6:41 pm

    I need a shower after reading that one.

    Obama really does bring out the crazy in people. That is one of my favorite things about him.

  10. 10.

    Jim

    January 10, 2010 at 6:42 pm

    she’s morphing into Peggy Noonan. She’s been in a slow-motion tailspin since 2004. Granted, she was truly, truly awful on Al Gore, but I thought she at least had a better grip on Dumbya than most of her brethren and sistren.

  11. 11.

    Nate

    January 10, 2010 at 6:42 pm

    Shorter MoDo: I prefer theater over action when it comes to national security.

    Good. To. Know.

  12. 12.

    eemom

    January 10, 2010 at 6:43 pm

    I’ve said this b4, but I’m pleased to say it again, and MoDo is such a nasty piece of work I have no compunction.

    The woman’s problem is simply that she hasn’t gotten laid since Michael Douglas dumped her. And that old cliche about “hell hath no fury”? It’s true.

    Thus, the horny, frustrated old witch spends her twilight years firing her hellish flames against (1) all attractive, powerful men who don’t want to fuck her; and (2) all women whom such men do, in fact, want to fuck. It really is that simple.

  13. 13.

    MattF

    January 10, 2010 at 6:45 pm

    It’s always about the family drama. The Obamas vs. the Cheneys. The Gores vs. the Clintons. The Palins vs. the Palins.

  14. 14.

    beanini

    January 10, 2010 at 6:45 pm

    Of course tomorrow her mindless drivel will be repeated on every cable and talk show outlet as the cw. They will praise her for her insight and emphasize that even the liberal maureen dowd thinks obama sucks.

  15. 15.

    Beauzeaux

    January 10, 2010 at 6:48 pm

    It occurred to me years ago that what the vast majority of Republicans want in a president is not a political leader, and not a true executive to run the executive branch of the federal government, but a smiling daddy figure who will be utterly ruthless in dealing with anything really really scary hiding under the bed.

  16. 16.

    General Winfield Stuck

    January 10, 2010 at 6:48 pm

    She slung around this tough guy daddy complex shit in 2004 with Kerry also. Personal Pathos at work here.

  17. 17.

    dmsilev

    January 10, 2010 at 6:49 pm

    Matt Yglesias::

    Reassuring children is a job for parents. Treating adults like they’re little children is, perhaps, a job for newspaper columnists.

    I think he wins the Internets for tonight.

    -dms

  18. 18.

    Midnight Marauder

    January 10, 2010 at 6:49 pm

    How this woman ever rose to “national prominence” in any capacity, I’ll never understand.

  19. 19.

    PurpleGirl

    January 10, 2010 at 6:50 pm

    MoDo has many issues to deal with and most of them are personal and should be kept private. I stopped reading her a few years ago. If she wants to deal with them in print, she should write a novel and we could be forewarned about the crap content.

  20. 20.

    Jim

    January 10, 2010 at 6:52 pm

    @eemom:

    She wrote a hit piece Teresa Heinz Kerry in ’04 that was such an obvious screed of jealousy I can’t believe she couldn’t see it herself.

  21. 21.

    General Winfield Stuck

    January 10, 2010 at 6:52 pm

    @eemom:

    Maybe an office poke with Bobo would get her mind right.

  22. 22.

    Warren Terra

    January 10, 2010 at 6:52 pm

    In a Fresh Air interview, MoDo bragged about how she was disinterested in doing her job as the Times White House correspondent during George HW Bush, so they gave her a column to get her out of there.

  23. 23.

    Nutella

    January 10, 2010 at 6:53 pm

    @schrodinger’s cat:

    It amazes me that anyone can say “I need the president to be my big strong Daddy” outside of a psychiatrist’s office.

    This is the distinguished journalism we are supposed to be worried about preserving when the newspapers all go under.

    The quicker NYT runs out of money to pay these fools the better for all of us.

  24. 24.

    SiubhanDuinne

    January 10, 2010 at 6:53 pm

    I read the first page of MoDo’s column this morning, but was so offended that I couldn’t bring myself to click “next page” and read on. Ten years ago, perhaps, she was mildly amusing, although I don’t remember that she was ever partularly insightful. But now I put her somewhere between “totally forgettable” and “utterly nauseating.” The NYT still has a few interesting and mostly honest columnists — Frank Rich, Nick Kristof, Bob Herbert, Paul Krugman — and I quite like Gail Collins — but that’s about it.

  25. 25.

    BR

    January 10, 2010 at 6:53 pm

    She’s almost directly spouting the GOP framing as per George Lakoff’s analysis:

    http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Think-Elephant-Debate-Progressives/dp/1931498717/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1263167579&sr=8-1

    Clearly she buys into the strong father model.

  26. 26.

    ruemara

    January 10, 2010 at 6:53 pm

    Wow. That was like a virtual barf in the mouth.

  27. 27.

    HRA

    January 10, 2010 at 6:56 pm

    @dmsilev:

    Absolutely!

    I read a portion of her column in memeorandum this am. A portion was too much.

  28. 28.

    JL

    January 10, 2010 at 6:57 pm

    Let me get this straight. She WANTS to be patronized to?

  29. 29.

    Demo Woman

    January 10, 2010 at 6:57 pm

    @General Winfield Stuck: Bobo could probably even bring a whip. That might impress her or should I say leave an impression.

  30. 30.

    The Republic of Stupidity

    January 10, 2010 at 6:57 pm

    I think I just threw up in my mouth.

    I don’t THINK I just threw up in my mouth…

    I KNOW it…

  31. 31.

    Max

    January 10, 2010 at 6:58 pm

    Reading the comments at her article give me some relief. She’s getting hammered and most people appreciate Obama’s responses and approaches.

    Perhaps the nation isn’t lost after all.

  32. 32.

    Warren Terra

    January 10, 2010 at 6:59 pm

    @Beauzeaux: In MoDo and the R’s perfect world there would be big posters of the Prez with the slogan “Big President Loves You”. They’re keen on the two-minute-hate, too.

  33. 33.

    Dannie22

    January 10, 2010 at 7:00 pm

    @General Winfield Stuck
    the idea of Bobo and Modo doing the nasty just made me throw up.

  34. 34.

    Delia

    January 10, 2010 at 7:00 pm

    If only it were merely Ms Dowd’s personal Big Daddy fixations. But there’s a country full of bedwetting goopers out there for whom this all sounds like the light of pure reason. Then they’ll turn around and hide behind their chosen Big Daddy, beat their chests and cheer for torture.

  35. 35.

    evie

    January 10, 2010 at 7:01 pm

    Oh, but the “liberals” over at Ameriblog (John A, specifically) thinks it’s “excellent.” Direct quote.

    Chris in Paris aside, that blog is the biggest bunch of whiners this side of Red State.

  36. 36.

    SiubhanDuinne

    January 10, 2010 at 7:01 pm

    @General Winfield Stuck:

    Eyeballs. Bleach.

  37. 37.

    jeffreyw

    January 10, 2010 at 7:04 pm

    MoDo And Sally Quinn get together for a bit of gossip.

  38. 38.

    Max

    January 10, 2010 at 7:04 pm

    @evie: Avarosis is ridiculous. His ODS is strong and his sole interest is self-promotion.

    His postings are continually dis-proven by others in the GLBT community that I follow.

    He’s in Sirota territory.

  39. 39.

    Joel

    January 10, 2010 at 7:05 pm

    Aegisthus already buried the axe in Agamemnon’s head, Dowd. Get over it.

  40. 40.

    Mary

    January 10, 2010 at 7:07 pm

    Speaking of crazy women, the new female front pager at DKos debuted with a screed demanding the defunding of progressive women’s organizations like Planned Parenthood and NARAL because they are ineffective and corrupt. Not to put too fine a point on it, I’m becoming more than a little suspicious why these websites are demanding the defunding of Democratic and progressive organizations. To be replaced with what? Another Jane Hamsher slush fund like Act Blue?

  41. 41.

    lamh31

    January 10, 2010 at 7:10 pm

    Someone over at JJP blog says this alot, but MoDo needs to understand that Obama isn’t her boyfriend, he’ the frickin’ President of the United States.

    Jeez, I’m a woman, and I know this is gonna come off sexist as hell, but damn that woman needs a man or something else to get over of obsessive daddy issues.

  42. 42.

    EIGRP

    January 10, 2010 at 7:12 pm

    I thought crying/tears showed weakness and therefore made the terrorists stronger.

    I’m getting whiplash from how fast conservatives change to suit their needs.

    -Eric

  43. 43.

    geg6

    January 10, 2010 at 7:12 pm

    Gawd. What a buncha toddlers our pundits are. Who the fuck wants the president to be their daddy? WTF? And MoDo is truly pathological. I agree with eemom and Jim. This is all about her sexual dysfunction and her sick and twisted jealousy. I remember that piece she wrote about Theresa Heinz Kerry. The envy oozed from the page. She is sickening, but the truly appalling thing is that the wingnuts and GOPers have the very same issues for the very same reasons. This country is a fucking insane asylum, I swear.

  44. 44.

    donovong

    January 10, 2010 at 7:14 pm

    I saw this late last nigt and quit reading before the end of the second paragraph. That idiot has had issues sine Clenis and has never gotten over them.

    That’s okay though, because the whole world is now paying rapt attention to every word uttered by Hackerin in his book version of an issue of the National Enquirer.

  45. 45.

    kay

    January 10, 2010 at 7:14 pm

    I’m sort of interested how it will play out. It would be good of we got beyond this idea that the President is our father, or big brother. I’m relieved Obama didn’t try to adopt that role because I’m fairly certain he’d be horribly uncomfortable with it, and it would fall flat. I don’t think it’s how he sees his role.
    There’s real risk associated with treating people like adults, however. I’m honestly curious how it will play. I’m pulling for the grown-ups to win this one. I think it would be a real victory for individual Americans to think : “he told me what was going on, accepted responsibility for his part in whatever failed, and now we just go forward, knowing more”.
    Obama brought us in, where Bush’s approach was to have serious discussions with “the grownups” after the kids were asked to leave the room. I’d rather be in the room, myself. I don’t like surprises.

  46. 46.

    evie

    January 10, 2010 at 7:17 pm

    @Max:

    I agree. Definitely Sirota territory.

  47. 47.

    SiubhanDuinne

    January 10, 2010 at 7:17 pm

    @jeffreyw #37: Excellent! I’m not sure what I was expecting to see, but that wasn’t it :-)

  48. 48.

    geg6

    January 10, 2010 at 7:18 pm

    Meanwhile, anyone watching 60 Minutes and Steve Kroft’s report on the electronic border fence boondoggle? Your tax dollars at work folks!

  49. 49.

    Jim

    January 10, 2010 at 7:18 pm

    @lamh31:

    Jeez, I’m a woman, and I know this is gonna come off sexist as hell, but damn that woman needs a man or something else to get over of obsessive daddy issues.

    I don’t think daddy issues are by any means limited to women. Tweety is on a pretty much endless quest for the approval of strong daddies–McCain, Fred Thompson, Tim Russert, Giuliani. Hell the whole NBC obsession with McCain can be boiled down to “My Daddy fought in the war and I didn’t”, especially Russert and Brokaw. Probably Wiliams too, but I’d pretty much given up on TeeVee by the time he took over.

  50. 50.

    Mike G

    January 10, 2010 at 7:19 pm

    to be the strong father who protects the home from invaders

    Who sits reading “My Pet Goat” to the kids for seven minutes after being told a burglar is ransacking the house, then gets in the car and disappears, only to reappear two days later with a bullhorn swearing he’s going to kick the burglar’s ass.

    Then he burns down a house, not the burglar’s but someone who lives in the burglar’s neighborhood because all the houses look the same and he never liked him anyway.

  51. 51.

    JAHILL10

    January 10, 2010 at 7:20 pm

    @Max
    Thanks for that info about MoDo’s comment section. Maybe there is hope.

    When is this country going to grow up? Sullivan is always complaining about the long suffering, stiff upper lip British, but at least they don’t burn the Magna Carta every time someone throws a bomb.

    I for one want a president who doesn’t talk to me like (or even think that I am) a thumb-sucking idiot. Probably THE most maddening thing about Bush was serene certainty that he could say any bullshit and be taken seriously because Rove had convinced him we are a nation of frightened dolts.

  52. 52.

    jeffreyw

    January 10, 2010 at 7:20 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne:
    Try this one.

  53. 53.

    jeffreyw

    January 10, 2010 at 7:21 pm

    @Mike G: This made my day, sir.

  54. 54.

    willf

    January 10, 2010 at 7:24 pm

    I went over and read the “screed” Mary refers to, above. It’s pretty good.

    Oh, I didn’t see any calls by the author to “defund” big advocacy groups like NARAL and NOW, just calls for these groups to actually advocate for the things they are supposed to, and not just rake in the donations and list build to no purpose.

    But I would have missed a fine post, otherwise. So, thanks Mary!

  55. 55.

    LanceThruster

    January 10, 2010 at 7:26 pm

    BART: Are you worried about your vote on the ballot measure tomorrow, Homer?

    HOMER: Of course not, boy. That’s what we pay politicians for.

  56. 56.

    Shawn in ShowMe

    January 10, 2010 at 7:26 pm

    It’s not enough for MoDowd just to get laid. She needs a man who will stay and put up with her bullshit. The brave soul who accepts this mission should get a Congressional Medal of Honor and free Springsteen tickets for life.

  57. 57.

    Jay in Oregon

    January 10, 2010 at 7:28 pm

    But these are the people who rail against the “nanny state”, right?

    Just trying to keep my looney birds in order…

  58. 58.

    Mary

    January 10, 2010 at 7:31 pm

    @willf: Nope. She calls for defunding vital parts of the progressive infrastructure. With no alternatives set forth. Just like FDL does.

  59. 59.

    kay

    January 10, 2010 at 7:32 pm

    She’s going to completely lose her mind with the first female President. I can’t imagine. Her world crumbles. I already feel sorry for the First Gentleman, in that scenario.

  60. 60.

    Ash

    January 10, 2010 at 7:32 pm

    @Jay in Oregon:

    But these are the people who rail against the “nanny state”, right?

    You’re not thinking like a Republitard there. Nannies = women, women = effeminate, effeminate = libruls.

  61. 61.

    Shawn in ShowMe

    January 10, 2010 at 7:33 pm

    I don’t think daddy issues are by any means limited to women. Tweety is on a pretty much endless quest for the approval of strong daddies—McCain, Fred Thompson, Tim Russert, Giuliani.

    The psyche of Chris “Thrill up my leg” Matthews is a Freudian paradise.

  62. 62.

    Nellcote

    January 10, 2010 at 7:33 pm

    He’s so sure of himself and his actions that he fails to see that he misses the moment to be president

    But I thought Frank Rich was the theater critic!

  63. 63.

    eemom

    January 10, 2010 at 7:33 pm

    @Shawn in ShowMe:

    I suspect that even with such inducements, the applicants wouldn’t exactly be breaking down the door.

  64. 64.

    Violet

    January 10, 2010 at 7:35 pm

    @Shawn in ShowMe:

    It’s not enough for MoDowd just to get laid. She needs a man who will stay and put up with her bullshit. The brave soul who accepts this mission should get a Congressional Medal of Honor and free Springsteen tickets for life.

    Too true. She thinks she doesn’t need a man, even wrote a book saying men aren’t necessary, and then spends all her time going on about how she needs a daddy.

    The woman has serious issues. I wish she wouldn’t try to work them on on the pages of the NYT.

  65. 65.

    SiubhanDuinne

    January 10, 2010 at 7:36 pm

    @jeffreyw #52: Lovely! Hummers are gorgeous little jewels and I’m always awestruck by the photos of them just hovering.

  66. 66.

    kommrade reproductive vigor

    January 10, 2010 at 7:40 pm

    [Blinks]

    Sorry, I had no idea I was supposed to regard the President of the United States as my fucking dad. And what does that make the Veep?

  67. 67.

    ellaesther

    January 10, 2010 at 7:41 pm

    I can see that I’m not alone in not wanting my President to pretend to be my Daddy — and I actually lost my own father when I wasn’t even a year old yet, so I count as someone with a rather legitimate need for a Daddy!

    I kind of like being treated like an adult. Comforter in Chief, in times of real woe — sure, and I think Obama can do and does that. But Father in Chief? What the hell for? So that we can further cede our rights and responsibilities in this republic?

    (I suppose I really should have just gone through and written “This!” in reply to every single one of you who said “Bush did that and it was awful”…!)

  68. 68.

    SIA

    January 10, 2010 at 7:41 pm

    @Mike G: Perfect.

  69. 69.

    Mary

    January 10, 2010 at 7:43 pm

    @ellaesther: I don’t see Bush and Cheney as acting like our Dads at all. My recollection is that they ran and hid.

  70. 70.

    Calvin Jones and the 13th Apostle

    January 10, 2010 at 7:44 pm

    @Shawn in ShowMe: I’m as big a Springsteen fan as you’ll find, but that’s a bit much, even for me. I’ve been to shows(about 60 .. since 1992) from Richmond to Boston and as far west as Pittsburgh. If I wouldn’t take that, I am doubtful anyone will.

  71. 71.

    jl

    January 10, 2010 at 7:47 pm

    What the **** happened to this ******* country. Or more specifically, to the boomers and their younger sibling gen X-ers? I am in between, so I guess this is my generation.

    I just checked wikipedia for Dowd, Robert (not the late Paul) Samuelson, Cohen, Matthews, Hiatt, Friedman. they are all boomers or gen X-ers. Why so many nitwits, cry-babies, A-holes and assclowns? What-up?

    Though, including Richard Cohen might not be fair. As B-J is an elaborate spoof run by DougJ and Tunch, I am convinced the Cohen is really an elaborate David Letterman running joke, since their pictures so much look alike to me?

    Dowd must hate herself, why else humiliate yourself by saying ridiculous things in front of the whole country.

    But, this is what the cool crowd opinion leaders say, so I guess I should follow along. I peed myself when I heard about the Christmas airline bomb attempt. Why didn’t Obama or Biden come over to change my diapie? I’m still waiting and I smell funny and I have a bad rash now. You call this leadership?

  72. 72.

    Violet

    January 10, 2010 at 7:48 pm

    @Mary:

    I don’t see Bush and Cheney as acting like our Dads at all. My recollection is that they ran and hid. Not very masculine at all.

    My recollection is that they acted like bullies – shouted a lot, boasted, said crazy things, and then started beating up on someone unrelated to the original issue just because they could. A good Dad doesn’t act like a bully.

  73. 73.

    geg6

    January 10, 2010 at 7:48 pm

    Mary @40: I sure didn’t see any calls for defunding NARAL or Planned Parenthood in that GOS post. I saw perfectly legitimate criticism of, especially, Emily’s List and NARAL with a call for women and their suppoters to hold them respnsible for using donations for issue and candidate advocacy that actually benefit women’s issues. I wrote NARAL during the Stupak mess myself, telling them they wouldn’t be getting any more donations from me until they did their job when it actually matters. Planned Parenthood gets a pass from me, since they actually DO put their money into actual services. But the criticism is legitimate. And you’re reading something in that post that just isn’t there. Sorry, but you’re wrong on this one.

  74. 74.

    GregB

    January 10, 2010 at 7:49 pm

    Daddy,

    Please hold me until Mommy brings the hot chocolate and the night light.

    -The American Children

  75. 75.

    Max

    January 10, 2010 at 7:51 pm

    @jl: I think you have your info wrong on Gen X.

    I’m 38 and a prime Gen X citizen.

    The boomers were our parents, not our siblings.

    We don’t own those people you listed.

  76. 76.

    Shawn in ShowMe

    January 10, 2010 at 7:52 pm

    kommrade reproductive vigor

    Sorry, I had no idea I was supposed to regard the President of the United States as my fucking dad. And what does that make the Veep?

    It’s always a treat to sit at the feet of Big Daddy Obama, Uncle Joe Biden and Cousin Rahmbo at the annual family reunion. I swear my testostorone level spikes just being in the same room with ’em.

  77. 77.

    jl

    January 10, 2010 at 7:54 pm

    @geg6: Ok thanks. Whatever the hell it is I dunno. I am disorieted right now because Obama has not come over to change my diaper.

    I am in between those two groups, however it works.

    In Edit: Who came right after the bommers? Do I have my generational labels mixed up? I need to find a generational label dictionary.

    I am not a total old fogey. I do have hope things are getting better with the people in their twenties now. What are they? double aught-zedders? Problem is that I will likely get old and messed up too soon for them to help me much.

  78. 78.

    Kyle

    January 10, 2010 at 7:55 pm

    I just checked wikipedia for Dowd, Robert (not the late Paul) Samuelson, Cohen, Matthews, Hiatt, Friedman…

    As far as I know these are all in their 50s or early 60s and are hence Boomers. Which is an indictment of how staid the newspaper business is.

    Although my generation (Gen-X) has a string of really snotty right-wingers who imbibed their politics as feel-good fantasies in the Reagan years and never grew up.

  79. 79.

    Ash

    January 10, 2010 at 7:57 pm

    @jl:

    I just checked wikipedia for Dowd, Robert (not the late Paul) Samuelson, Cohen, Matthews, Hiatt, Friedman. they are all boomers or gen X-ers. Why so many nitwits, cry-babies, A-holes and assclowns? What-up?

    Speaking as a member of Gen Z or whatever the hell it is now, we generally regard Boomers as the biggest group of selfish WATBs to ever exist (not ALL of them of course, just a very large majority). There’s a lot of “Well, WE did it like this back then and got crazy rich and everything was freaking awesome, so why can’t YOU?” When it comes to Gen X’ers, the bag is more mixed.

  80. 80.

    Anne Laurie

    January 10, 2010 at 7:59 pm

    @jl:

    I just checked wikipedia for Dowd, Robert (not the late Paul) Samuelson, Cohen, Matthews, Hiatt, Friedman. they are all boomers or gen X-ers. Whyh so many nitwits, cry-babies, A-holes and assclowns? What-up?

    Ross DoubtThat, aka ‘Chunky Bobo Brooks’, is young enough to be MoDo’s grandson — he just writes like Abe Simpson’s upper-class cousin. Ditto the many interchangeable yungcons named Connor interning for Sullivan, Larison, Ambinder et al. It’s not a chronological issue, it’s that the people paying NYT columnists the big dollars to produce this senility-scented pap want the general voting (or, at least, buying) public to assume that every fRight-thinking person is a dimwitted tool who’d rather be driven than led.

  81. 81.

    Max

    January 10, 2010 at 8:01 pm

    @jl: Generation Jones is considered in between, sort of a late Boomer, early Slacker.

    However, because the Boomers were the parents of the Gen X’ers, there isn’t really a full generation between them.

    Obama is considered in Generation Jones (born 1954 to 1965). Is that you?

  82. 82.

    silentbeep

    January 10, 2010 at 8:01 pm

    Carrie Bradshaw showed more gravitas during SATC than MoDo ever has. Her columns tend to be gossipy and emotionalist, just like this one! She is so silly. Stop being a stereotype MoDo. Jeez.

  83. 83.

    Mary

    January 10, 2010 at 8:05 pm

    @geg6: We’ll just have to agree to disagree then. FDL has been calling for a boycott of those organizations for years but I know you don’t read FDL. It’s a disturbing pattern to me.

  84. 84.

    Mary

    January 10, 2010 at 8:05 pm

    @geg6: We’ll just have to agree to disagree then. FDL has been calling for a boycott of those organizations for years but I know you don’t read FDL. It’s a disturbing pattern to me.

  85. 85.

    jl

    January 10, 2010 at 8:06 pm

    @Max: Yes that is me. I never heard of Generation Jones before. Thank you for revealing my generational identity.

    BTW, I think the last decade should be called the Ozone, or Oh-zone, or Owe-zone, or Oh-Oh-zone.

    But it is not catching on.

    Is my idea really that bad/

  86. 86.

    geg6

    January 10, 2010 at 8:08 pm

    jl @78: The people between the Boomers and GenX would be my and Obama’s generation, the tail end Boomers known as Generation Jones. We were too young for the 60s and too old for the 80s. We were the kids in “Dazed and Confused.” I don’t see us as WATBs like the Boomers. Nobody whines like the Boomers. GenXers aren’t whiners, either. Just cynical smartasses who snipe at eveyone but themselves. ;-)

  87. 87.

    BombIranForChrist

    January 10, 2010 at 8:09 pm

    Whenever we are attacked by our enemy, I want my president to pull down my pants and spank me, spank me because I have been very, very bad. Yes, that’s it. Spank me, Mr. President!

    Modo is mental.

  88. 88.

    Cat Lady

    January 10, 2010 at 8:10 pm

    @Nate:

    Shorter:

    MoDo Needs A Hug Good Fuck

  89. 89.

    Chat Noir

    January 10, 2010 at 8:14 pm

    I thought the Baby Boomers are 1946 to 1964, with subgroups in between. Then you get GenX (a name I always hated as I’m a member born in 1966) born between 1965 and 1980. After that, I don’t know.

    And, yes, I thought Dowd’s column sucked big time (most of them do so I wasn’t surprised). I thought Obama has handled the u-trou bomber appropriately. I prefer to be treated as an adult as well.

    And what’s the story with Dowd and Michael Douglas? I always see folks mention it here but I don’t know the backstory.

  90. 90.

    Max

    January 10, 2010 at 8:18 pm

    @geg6:

    We were the kids in “Dazed and Confused.”

    And Gen X’ers were the kids in Singles or Reality Bites.

  91. 91.

    New Yorker

    January 10, 2010 at 8:18 pm

    to be the strong father who protects the home from invaders, who reassures and instructs the public at traumatic moments.

    Um….what traumatic moment? If some trust fund kid setting his nads on fire is supposed to be a “traumatic moment” for this country, then we really are doomed as a society.

  92. 92.

    BDeevDad

    January 10, 2010 at 8:29 pm

    I’d really like one public person to just tell people to stop acting so scared. The Presidents job is not to protect citizens, it is to protect the Constitution. He can’t take responsibility for everyone’s safety because there are just to many risks out there to realistically deal with every possible contingency.

    Stop getting your knickers in a bunch and live your life, don’t let others control it because in the end that is their goal.

  93. 93.

    Mike G

    January 10, 2010 at 8:30 pm

    some trust fund kid setting his nads on fire

    If only his rich father had gotten his religion-addled spoilt kid a spot he didn’t earn flying for the Nigerian National Guard, or patronage do-nothing jobs on corporate boards, or running a baseball team.

  94. 94.

    Kobie

    January 10, 2010 at 8:40 pm

    @jl:

    Boomers — post-WWII to about 1960
    Gen X — 1961 to ~ 1980
    Gen Y — 1981 to ~ 2000

    By my calculations, anyway.

  95. 95.

    Kobie

    January 10, 2010 at 8:40 pm

    @jl:

    Who came right after the bo0mers? Do I have my generational labels mixed up? I need to find a generational label dictionary.

    Boomers — post-WWII to about 1960
    Gen X — 1961 to ~ 1980
    Gen Y — 1981 to ~ 2000

    By my calculations, anyway.

  96. 96.

    ellaesther

    January 10, 2010 at 8:41 pm

    @Violet: Well now, I didn’t say that Bush/Cheney were good at pretending to be parents! They were the bullying, mean-spirited abusive kind who thought that children (aka the American public) were better seen than heard — and if seen, only when scrubbed clean of all possible dissent.

  97. 97.

    Ruckus

    January 10, 2010 at 8:42 pm

    I got here late so I see that @The Republic of Stupidity: beat me to the appropriate punch line.
    So now good news. I was late to the thread, well for one thing I have somewhat of a life but mainly because I was picking up a rescue dog. So a new member of the Ruckus household. I’ll post a picture somewhere and put up a link on the next pet post.

  98. 98.

    SiubhanDuinne

    January 10, 2010 at 8:43 pm

    Ready for this? According to the Wikipedia article on MoDo, she refers to her NYT colleague Tom Friedman as her “office husband” or “Mr. Solar.”

    I don’t think my mouth can take all the throwing up in it that this topic has triggered.

  99. 99.

    Nick

    January 10, 2010 at 8:45 pm

    @New Yorker: Wasn’t your family so frightened on Christmas that you had to cancel dinner and go home and cry and stand in front of the television shaking in fear waiting for Obama to talk to you?

    No, neither was mine, we were too drunk.

  100. 100.

    gbear

    January 10, 2010 at 8:47 pm

    @geg6:

    Well now I wondering if I’m in between the boomers and the joners. Graduated in 72 so we were living in the fallout of the 60’s. I’m incredibly selfish per @Ash: , but I’m too poor for anyone to notice that I’m hoarding their resources. It’s a quandry…

  101. 101.

    SiubhanDuinne

    January 10, 2010 at 8:48 pm

    @Ruckus: Congratulations. You are a good person, and I look forward to seeing photos. In the meantime, at least give us the vitals — what kind, what colour, what size, what age — as far as you know them. Oh, and what did you name him/her?

  102. 102.

    WaterGirl

    January 10, 2010 at 8:55 pm

    @Mike G: That was absolutely perfect!

  103. 103.

    Ruckus

    January 10, 2010 at 8:57 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne:
    His name is Bud. He was named Bandit in the shelter but he answers much better to Bud. He’s a 10 yr old black cocker spaniel. I think English instead of American. About 35lbs, which is about 5 too much but he is losing a bit so maybe he’ll help me keep losing as well. He’s just cool, very calm and good with everyone and everything.

  104. 104.

    SiubhanDuinne

    January 10, 2010 at 9:02 pm

    @Ruckus: Aww, he sounds wonderful. Welcome to a good life, BudRuckus.

  105. 105.

    Karen

    January 10, 2010 at 9:06 pm

    Yet if he lost his cool, they’d be complaining that he couldn’t handle the pressure. It’ll always be something.

    I was born in 1965 so I guess that makes me the first year of Generation X. I don’t want a Daddy I already have one. I want a manager who has my back and who I know is competent and skilled enough to protect me if need be. And this manager will always have tricks up his sleeve. That’s how I see Obama. The manager of the US who will keep the States safe to the best of his ability and will always have hidden rabbit in his hat that will make me marvel at it when it’s finally pulled from the hat.

  106. 106.

    gbear

    January 10, 2010 at 9:07 pm

    @Ruckus:

    His name is Bud. He was named Bandit in the shelter but he answers much better to Bud

    Every pet should be named Bud. I had a cat named Rosebud but it got shortened to Bud pretty quickly. When she got too nosey, she was Budinski. Good luck w/ the new pet.

  107. 107.

    johnny walker

    January 10, 2010 at 9:25 pm

    Not to nitpick, but +how many must one be to lose track of whether or not they’ve thrown up in their own mouth?

  108. 108.

    Ruckus

    January 10, 2010 at 9:27 pm

    @gbear:
    That would go well at the dog park. Someone yells Bud and gets stampeded by a pack of wild pets looking for a treat.

  109. 109.

    Cat Lady

    January 10, 2010 at 9:44 pm

    @Karen:

    O-bot.

  110. 110.

    jl

    January 10, 2010 at 9:44 pm

    @Ruckus: Congrats. Ad for ‘bud’… get stampeded by a pack of wild pets and potential customers looking to get their mellow on.

  111. 111.

    kommrade reproductive vigor

    January 10, 2010 at 10:03 pm

    You know who else talked about the Fatherland?

    @Nick: My, or at least my S.O.’s very Mid-Western family snarked at the hysteria until they got sick of it and then switched to some holiday movie.

  112. 112.

    morzer

    January 10, 2010 at 10:06 pm

    I keep expecting to hear that MoDo was actually Mistress 15 or whatever number the Tiger Woods Love Queue has now reached. It would certainly explain her animus towards Obama. Daddy ain’t there no more, you see.

  113. 113.

    Comrade Darkness

    January 10, 2010 at 11:03 pm

    A hundred years from now some French political historian/poet/authors will hold up Maureen Dowd as the epitome of high cultural irony, a truly great artist. It will be a sad day.

  114. 114.

    Kerry Reid

    January 10, 2010 at 11:34 pm

    Now be fair — cooing “Oooh DADDY!” at the right moment has probably helped MoDo a lot in her life, so no wonder it’s a go-to strategy for her in times of perceived stress.

  115. 115.

    DougL (frmrly: Conservatively Liberal)

    January 10, 2010 at 11:34 pm

    @Shawn in ShowMe:

    When I’ve seen MoDo on TV I’ve always thought that she has fuck me  written all over herself. The problem for her is that the subtext to that is and you’ll regret it.

    She needs to find a plumber and get some pipe. Better make it stainless so it won’t corrode.

  116. 116.

    Kerry Reid

    January 10, 2010 at 11:42 pm

    And it wasn’t just Teresa Heinz Kerry she went after — Dowd tried to paint the Drs. Dean as dysfunctional and weird because, um, Judith Dean preferred to be a doctor and take care of sick people as she promised to do when she took the Hippocratic oath, rather than get on the campaign bus and do the frozen-pudding smiles. She’s a hateful aging Mean Girl who can’t stand the thought of the klieg lights being on anyone else.

  117. 117.

    Cat Lady

    January 10, 2010 at 11:55 pm

    @Kerry Reid:

    hateful aging Mean Girl

    New tag please Anne Laurie. This.

  118. 118.

    asiangrrlMN

    January 11, 2010 at 12:02 am

    @Ruckus: No way he can be president, then. Sad. And, good on you. Can’t wait to see pics.

    The thought of MoDo doing BoBo and/or The Mustache of Understanding…I must now go poke my brains out with a rusty skewer. That which has been imagined can not be un-imagined. Threesome, anyone?

    MoDo, if you need a daddy, go find yourself one. I prefer to have someone who keeps a cool head on his shoulder, especially when the crotch-bomber was so filled with spectacular fail.

    And, I am a Gen-Xer, and I snark at everyone INCLUDING myself.

    @Kerry Reid: Yup. MoDo is definitely a Mean Girl who is mentally frozen at thirteen.

  119. 119.

    BarbMcc

    January 11, 2010 at 12:03 am

    Wow – I usually just come here and read with a smile on my face. Today was ‘family day’ and, after we 3 all threw up in our mouths a little @ the MoDo article, we spent the rest of the day as far from the news as possible. Just arrived home to learn Brady shot his wad in the wrong direction & I, to read this roll of comments. Spot on friends-I feel like you were reading my mind, only if I were more succinct. Good night.

  120. 120.

    wilfred

    January 11, 2010 at 12:09 am

    @gbear:

    Rosebud…rosebud…slow dissolve Modo into Agnes Morehead, the epitome of neurotic pseudo-mothering.

    I miss the NYT firewall that protected me from hearing anything about Modo and all the rest of them.

  121. 121.

    burnspbesq

    January 11, 2010 at 12:51 am

    @lamh31:

    that woman needs a man or something else

    I think it’s going to have to be “something else.” I think I speak for the vast majority of straight men when I say I’ve never been that drunk.

  122. 122.

    Ruckus

    January 11, 2010 at 1:05 am

    @burnspbesq:
    I may have been that drunk once. But fortunately I sobered up and realized how dangerous being that drunk could be. I mean it’s one thing be caught knee dragging, commode hugging, falling down, passing out, naked, spending the night in jail drunk, but caught sleeping with her? How could any human have any self esteem left after that? Or a penis that doesn’t fall off out of disgust.

  123. 123.

    Dan Robinson

    January 11, 2010 at 1:18 am

    I think you are missing the point. She ran out of batteries for her mini-vibe and she is typing with one hand.

  124. 124.

    Comrade Baron Elmo

    January 11, 2010 at 1:59 am

    (My all-time favorite Maureen Dowd anecdote, one that speaks effin’ volumes about every word she writes):

    Eight or nine or ten years ago, someone fixed up Modo with a friend of mine (whom I’ll call “X.”). It was at a dinner with a number of other people, but Modo and X were seated next to each other and it was fairly clear this was a set-up. Now this in itself is hilarious, because it is such an epic, world-historic case of wretched matchmaking skills. If you knew X. you would instantly realize what a disaster-in-the-making this set-up had to have have been.

    Now, let me say a few things about X. He is without a doubt one of my favorite people in the whole world. Besides being a loyal, kind, and a total mensch, he is brilliant — probably one of the two or three best minds I’ve ever had the pleasure to know. He’s always reading something interesting. He’ll habitually come up with insights about politics and the world that are fresh, original, and not infrequently profound. He’s a gifted storyteller as well. Does fascinating work in the world. An all-round great guy and one of my all-time favorite people to have dinner with.

    A couple of other things about him: he loathes gossip. If you try to dish the dirt, it’s pretty clear he’s not comfortable with that kind of conversation. Also, his attitudes about sex are a tad Puritanical. He’s not a prude, exactly, but he does exhibit a certain decorum where sexual subjects are concerned. I’ve noticed that when I’m around him, I tend to button up my usual foul-mouthed tendencies and go easy on the four-letter words. And honestly, the only other people I do this around are my parents.

    Okay, you got all that? Good.

    So how did it go? X. told me that, the whole night, all Maureen could talk about was which women Bill Clinton was sleeping with. Literally. “Do you think he’s having an affair with B.? I think he is. But maybe they did and it’s over now and he’s moved onto someone else. Ya think? Maybe he’s messing around with C. — she seems more his type. I’d bet he’d love to have an affair with D., but I’m not sure she’d fool around with a married man.” And on and on and on and on and ON in this vein. The whole night long. X tried to engage her on other topics. The world, after all, is full of a number of things: Books. Movies. Theater. Travel. Music. Food. And how about, not what Bill Clinton was doing with his penis, but what he was doing with his policies?

    But alas, in spite of my friend’s ministrations, he could not get the lady off Topic A.

    Suffice it to say, it was a long night…

    Here Maureen Dowd was, sitting across the table from this Totally. Fucking. Amazing. Person. Yet she could make no human connection with him. She did not get to know him at all. Because all she could talk about all night long was Bill Clinton’s cock.

    Ponder that the next time you stumble across a Maureen Dowd column and enter her sick, sad world. And think about what it means that this woman has risen to the very pinnacle of the journalistic profession in America.

  125. 125.

    blackwaterdog

    January 11, 2010 at 2:02 am

    I love the most recommended comment there:

    Well, Obama is not perfect, no one is. However, as someone who only voted for him after Sarah Ditz was nominated, I am impressed with how hard he is working for the country. The Party of No is there to try to block him at every step and sometimes he gets stabbed in the back by so called Democrats. But he is the best president I have seen in this office so far, in my my life. He will turn out to be another Roosevelt or Truman.

    Seeing that it’s got over 1000 votes, makes me feel that maybe not all is lost in this country.

  126. 126.

    DougL (frmrly: Conservatively Liberal)

    January 11, 2010 at 5:30 am

    @blackwaterdog:

    Is this the same blackwaterdog who posts the Obama diaries at GOS? If so, thanks for the excellent posts and pics there. I gave up posting there years ago but I still read some stuff there and your diaries are ones I always read/view. The place is too insane for me to engage but your stuff is always worth checking out.

    If this is not the same bwd then let me say you picked a good name…lol!

    Regarding your comment; there is a lot of support out there for Obama but the MSM has to push their own narrative on everything Obama.

  127. 127.

    brantl

    January 11, 2010 at 8:03 am

    She needs a working brain, or failing that, a muzzle. Muzzles are probably cheaper. But then, it wouldn’t take much of a brain to be an improvement on the one she’s got. My dog is getting pretty old, and she’s pretty smart.

  128. 128.

    bob h

    January 11, 2010 at 8:09 am

    If Obama has made a mistake in his life it was to assume that we Americans are a mature people who would respond to being treated like intelligent grownups.

    (I recall at 9-11 time Dowd going in panic to McCain, who had to hold her hand)

  129. 129.

    lurkergirl

    January 11, 2010 at 10:55 am

    @eemom: Yep, you nailed it. I blame the Clenis – apparently he never hit on MoDo and it’s been eating her up ever since. She never has a good thing to say about the wives of any prominent Democratic men and it’s so obvious she’s bitterly jealous of them. You can hear the subtext running through her head: “No fair, no fair, NO FAIR!! Where’s MY high-powered, charismatic, handsome politician husband? How come she gets to have him, and a career of her own, and kids too? I’m smarter AND hotter than her!! NO FAIR!

    And on the rare occasions she tries to pretend she’s a feminist, it’s always about how more choices really haven’t made women happier. Whatever, MoDo. Go back to wishing for Big Daddy to tell you it’s all going to be OK.

  130. 130.

    LanceThruster

    January 11, 2010 at 11:10 am

    Yes, that’s all well and good…but what good stories did she have on the Clenis? Surely your worldly friend could have provided you with every salacious detail.

    How did she rise through the ranks to achieve such journalistic acclaim? Because people like me want to know!

    [sigh]

  131. 131.

    LanceThruster

    January 11, 2010 at 11:13 am

    @Comrade Baron Elmo:

    Yes, that’s all well and good…but what good stories did she have on the Clenis? Surely your worldly friend could have provided you with every salacious detail.

    How did she rise through the ranks to achieve such journalistic acclaim? Because people like me want to know!

    [sigh]

  132. 132.

    CalD

    January 11, 2010 at 1:33 pm

    Many people are morons. Some of them write for the New York Times.

Comments are closed.

Trackbacks

  1. Kabuki Revisionism « The Great American Desert says:
    January 10, 2010 at 7:31 pm

    […] columnist Maureen Dowd, also is waking up in the middle of the night, asking Daddy to get her a glass of water: He’s so sure of himself and his actions that he fails to see that he misses the moment to be […]

Primary Sidebar

Recent Comments

  • Elizabelle on Everything That’s Good – Mockery Goes So Well With Coffee, Ice Cream, Forever Potus, Biden and MVP (Mar 31, 2023 @ 3:54pm)
  • MisterDancer on Happy Trans Day of Visibility! (Mar 31, 2023 @ 3:53pm)
  • WaterGirl on Everything That’s Good – Mockery Goes So Well With Coffee, Ice Cream, Forever Potus, Biden and MVP (Mar 31, 2023 @ 3:51pm)
  • Baud on Everything That’s Good – Mockery Goes So Well With Coffee, Ice Cream, Forever Potus, Biden and MVP (Mar 31, 2023 @ 3:49pm)
  • WaterGirl on Everything That’s Good – Mockery Goes So Well With Coffee, Ice Cream, Forever Potus, Biden and MVP (Mar 31, 2023 @ 3:49pm)

Balloon Juice Meetups!

All Meetups
Seattle Meetup coming up on April 4!

🎈Keep Balloon Juice Ad Free

Become a Balloon Juice Patreon
Donate with Venmo, Zelle or PayPal

Fundraising 2023-24

Wis*Dems Supreme Court + SD-8

Balloon Juice Posts

View by Topic
View by Author
View by Month & Year
View by Past Author

Featuring

Medium Cool
Artists in Our Midst
Authors in Our Midst
We All Need A Little Kindness
Classified Documents: A Primer
State & Local Elections Discussion

Calling All Jackals

Site Feedback
Nominate a Rotating Tag
Submit Photos to On the Road
Balloon Juice Mailing List Signup
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Links)
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Posts)

Twitter / Spoutible

Balloon Juice (Spoutible)
WaterGirl (Spoutible)
TaMara (Spoutible)
John Cole
DougJ (aka NYT Pitchbot)
Betty Cracker
Tom Levenson
TaMara
David Anderson
Major Major Major Major
ActualCitizensUnited

Join the Fight!

Join the Fight Signup Form
All Join the Fight Posts

Balloon Juice Events

5/14  The Apocalypse
5/20  Home Away from Home
5/29  We’re Back, Baby
7/21  Merging!

Balloon Juice for Ukraine

Donate

Site Footer

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Comment Policy
  • Our Authors
  • Blogroll
  • Our Artists
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2023 Dev Balloon Juice · All Rights Reserved · Powered by BizBudding Inc

Share this ArticleLike this article? Email it to a friend!

Email sent!