Was Arnold Sexist to Grab Claire Shipman's Hands?

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On CNN's "Reliable Sources" Sunday, host Howard Kurtz asked ABC's Claire Shipman about California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger grabbing her hands during an interview about the wildfires. "Would he have done that to a male correspondent?" And when Kurtz served up Glenn Beck's wildfires comments on CNN Headline News, CBS's Harry Smith was so non-plussed he changed the subject. First, the Shipman exchange:

KURTZ: What were you thinking when Schwarzenegger grabbed your hand and accused of you hating good news?

SHIPMAN: Well, my first thought was, this is unusual. You know? And then I thought, when is he going to let go of my hands? He held my hands for the entire answer.

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But it was just -- it was odd. It was an odd, unusual moment.

But a lot of people asked me afterwards, oh, were you scared? He was trying to keep you from asking questions. And he wasn't.

He was making a point in a typical Arnold Schwarzenegger way, which was, you know, I want to make the point everything is going well and you're gesturing in my face. And he grabbed my hand and...

KURTZ: Right. Would he have done that to a male correspondent?

SHIPMAN: I thought that often. I don't think so. But I do think, as George Stephanopoulos told me, he -- he and I decided he probably would have put his hands on the shoulders of a male correspondent and tried to make the same point.

Here's the brief exchange about Glenn Beck:

KURTZ: Harry, the last question to you. "Headline News" anchor Glenn Beck had this to say about people living in and around Malibu earlier in the week when this basically -- when the fire story was basically a Malibu story. Let's listen.

GLENN BECK, "HEADLINE NEWS": I think there is a handful of people who hate America. Unfortunately for them, a lot of them are losing their homes in a forest fire today.

KURTZ: Is it appropriate to say that while people are losing their houses?

SMITH: I can't -- I don't even understand what that means.

KURTZ: It means that rich celebrities are, in his view, not sympathetic victims, I would say.

SMITH: Oh, I don't know. It's -- listen. Here's the thing -- I want to go back to FEMA, because here's the deal. Accountability and transparency, that's tough. That's tough. And they've just decided they'd cut out the middle man, and there is no excuses for what they did.

FEMA apparently had a "press conference" where the press questioners were actually FEMA employees. You can understand how the media would hate that. If there isn't a lot of hyperventilating Katrina-citing partisan pessimists, then it's not the real liberal media elite.

—Tim Graham is Director of Media Analysis at the Media Research Center.


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Sexist or Not

Sexist or not, it was very effective. It calmed her down.

Frankly I think its sexist for men and women to couple. Deal with it oh feminists.

}}---> Ahnuld

Took longer than I figured it would.  I was expecting a next day outrage about the "holding hands" incident.

Authoritative, yes.  Sexist, no.

  • I'd give my right arm to be ambidextrous

sexy? what's wrong with

sexy? what's wrong with sexy?

-nigel tuffnil

}}---> Nuthin atall, Truthie

Makes the world go round.  Helps ya steer clear of Code Pink whackos too.

  • I'd give my right arm to be ambidextrous

If it were a man he

If it were a man he probably would have grabbed him by his collar, lifted him 2 feet straight up and said: "I don't know what the problem is, but I'm sure it can be solved without resorting to violence." (Twins). And if he still doesn't get it: "Hasta la vista baby!"

 

}}---> Gat

Then he woulda put out his Havana stubbie in the guy's eye.

Um, no, he wouldn't grab a

Um, no, he wouldn't grab a man's hands. Not because he considered Shipman inferior, but because it isn't, um, "manly" to "hold hands" with another guy.

On the other hand (pun intended) they probably would have thought that was cool.

A Real "Wildfire"!

First, let me say that I think this would have been fair and balanced reporting if Howard Kurtz also asked ABC's Claire Shipman “Do you think it was fair of you to as Arnold to draw comparisons to Katrina where none existed?

Secondly, Shipman said “Well, my first thought was, this is unusual.” That’s simply not true. Her first thought was, “Arnold is calling me out on my biased reporting, and I need to think of a quick way out of this”.

Thirdly, trying to make a sexism case out of Arnold grabbing the hand of a hysterical reporter is just crap. It’s not like Arnold said “Come back to my place and I’ll show you a real wildfire”!

Leon says "By the way, I'm not afraid of fat people, I'm repulsed"

Truth Monger Says - "Both are religions [Christianity & Islam], yes - with the same percentage of terrorists."

"Would he have done that to

"Would he have done that to a male correspondent?"

Yes. Only it would be called a firm handshake. Nothing sexy about it at all.

If he would've done it to a less attractive correspondent, would it be considered sexist?

**My Daughter at the WWII Memorial

French President

And the French President walked out on Lesley Stahl of CBS 60 Minutes. He called her questions "stupid". Good for him, good for Arnold. This is just what the idiots of the press need. I've been waiting a long time to see this start. Hurrah!

NEVER,NEVER trust a "liberal"

this is good stuff - hope

this is good stuff - hope to see A LOT more of it... 

Partner with Islam and the NB respect police:)

and the male reporter would

and the male reporter would have been walking around with his right hand in a cast for six weeks.

C

Assuming, of course, that he

Assuming, of course, that he still had a right hand upon which to place a cast.

**My Daughter at the WWII Memorial

Well that's kinda dumb,

Well that's kinda dumb, having your employees be the ones asking the questions, isn't it?

}}---> Absolutely disgraceful, bal

It's every bit as disgraceful as having only MSM outlets controlling questions at Democrat debates.  Collusion of interest pieces such as these serve only to expose the underhandedness and exclusiveness of closed loop think.

Chertoff needs to chop some heads.

Arnold was simply following

Arnold was simply following his movie roots...

...I don't know how many times he has said either "Take my hand!" or "Take my hand if you want to live!" in one of his films...

 H e just wanted to her her survive...that's Arnold being Arnold...

Ah-rnald, the Unseen Tape

Ahrnald was with a male correspondent in the minutes preceeding his encounter with Shipman.  Here is the transcript.

Ahrnald [Threatening an annoying reporter].  "I'm going to grab you last."

Male Reporter: "But Governor, isn't this the worst wildfire on record in the history of the world and isn't it caused by global warming, the war on terror and homelessness?"

Ahrnald [Grabbing male reporter.]  "I lied."

Male Reporter [being carried over to a Malibu cliff]. "I repeat my question, is this the aaaaaaaaahhh...."

Other Correspondent: "What happened to my colleague?"

Ahrnald: "I let him go."

 

<insert witty signature here>

What difference does it make

What difference does it make if Arnold would have grabbed the hand of a male correspondent? Shipman isn't a male correspondent. I knew the LSM (Lame-Stream Media) would try to make something of this. My prediction was that they would accuse Arnold of assault and suppressing opposing comments. While they did try to put a fear factor into it with the "were you scared" question, I guess they resolved to play the gender card instead. Maybe they're getting just a bit smarter in their propaganda, knowing that accusing Arnold of physical intimidation would blow up in their smarmy faces... 

The Closed Mind Erects Strong Barriers

Liberals don't know what

Liberals don't know what polite society is anymore. Soon, they'll pounce on things like having a man ask a woman if he can marry her. That'd be sexist because-- um... eh, I don't really know, but there will be some connection no matter how far out it is. But just like in this case, where the connection between sexism and greeting a person was made (and how, I still don't understand), we'll yet again be perplexed by the absurd idiocy of the liberals and MSM.

I don't know that Ahnuld

I don't know that Ahnuld grabbing her hand was "polite society." It's not a big deal, but it was his attempt to impose himself on the conversation physically, which is what he is used to doing. As has been said, if it was a guy, he would have grabbed him in some manner as well.

she kept asking the same, lame questions

He had to do something, she wouldn't stop trying to pin him down. She kept asking the same questions over and over (using slightly different words each time). Grabbing her hand was NOT "imposing himself on her"

No RINOs in '08 - Mike Huckabee is the best choice 

Why did he do it: to get

Why did he do it: to get her attention and get her to stop. That is imposing himself on her.

Why did she do it? To get

Why did she do it? To get his attention and trick him into admitting something untrue. That's imposing herself on him.

See Bal, it works both ways. If one can make a case that Arnold did something wrong here, the same can be said for Shipman. There was nothing "journalistic" about this interview. She just got caught and called out on being a political hack, and the LSM doesn't like it.

The Closed Mind Erects Strong Barriers

See Bal, it works both

See Bal, it works both ways.

Of course it does. I was explaining the Ahnuld side of it.

The key point here is that

The key point here is that Arnold was responding to Shipman's totally off-the-wall comments and attempt to guide the "interview" to her political perspective. This just demonstrates the arrogance the LSM has developed where a teenie little woman reporter thinks she can actually intimidate someone like the Governator into saying something not true to make her point. Arnold brought her up short, and her cohorts don't want that trend to catch on. Hence all the hoopla over this "inappropriate" grabbing, which is nothing but BS and a desperate attempt to divert attention from the real issue - a supposedly fair "reporter" attempting to steer an interview towards a biased political point contrary to that of the interviewee.

The Closed Mind Erects Strong Barriers

Yes, he was sexist.

If he was a feminist he'd have punched her.

But chivalry was killed by feminazism...

BTW  Was it sexist for Governor Clinton when he raped Juanita Broderick?  Just wond'rin'...

  If she didn't try to pull

  If she didn't try to pull away or didn't ask him to let go and she was not alone and felt in danger then it was consensual.

 I think the wrong

 I think the wrong question is being asked.  Shouldn't the question be, "Wasn't it biased for a reporter to keep trying to get the Gov. to make a statement he did not believe or want to say?"

 

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.

Use the Clinton technique

He should have used the Clinton technique; bite her lip until she submits.  That way the press would have never mentioned it.  Just ask Juanita Brodderick.

 

When asked if he went to war with Iraq  to derail the impeachment vote:  “I don’t think any serious person would believe that any President would do such a thing." - President Clinton (Dec 1998).

It was the only way

Grabbing her hand was the only way he could get this knucklehead's attention and get her to shut her yap for one second.

She's lucky it wasn't

She's lucky it wasn't Clinton.

He would have grabbed sometings else.