The New York Times Opinion section is ripe with interesting, or at least amusing, stories today. Or maybe saving all these blogs for the end of the semester is just making me a little giddy. Regardless, Gail Collins has an opinion piece up where she looks into new Speaker of the House John Boehner and his tendency to burst into tears at the slightest provocation- something his supporters relish as a sign of his good human nature.
Collins takes a few moments to pause during her editorial to wonder about what would happen in Nancy Pelosi cried during her addresses… pundits would immediately jump all over her because A) She a woman, and thus assumed to be weak and B) a Democrat, and thus assumed to be weak, and her crying would just be confirming these things. In fact, the very thing happened to Hillary Clinton during her primary campaign a few years ago. She sniffled and had wet eyes during a speech in New Hampshite, and the headline in the papers the next was “Clinton Cries” and everyone began to talk about how she was strong enough to lead the nation through these difficult economic times.
Boehner, on the other hand, has admitted he can’t even visit schools or playgrounds, because he bursts into tears at the sight. Why, you ask? Because “making sure these kids have a shot at the American dream, like I did, is important.” Well, if I wasn’t feeling a little sick already from finals week, imagining a grown man, and one of the more important politicians in the country for the next two years, sob out this quote would probably get the job done.
