CBS Rips Rush: ‘Sexism Hits the Campaign Trail’

Kyle Drennen
December 18th, 2007 10:45 AM
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Tuesday’s CBS "Early Show" led with co-host Julie Chen exclaiming: "Sexism hits the campaign trail as Rush Limbaugh asks if voters want to stare at an aging woman as president." This harsh accusation was in reference to comments made by Limbaugh during his radio show on Monday, in which he said: "Will Americans want to watch a woman get older before their eyes on a daily basis? And that woman, by the way, is not going to want to look like she's getting older because it'll impact poll numbers, it'll impact perceptions."

The "Early Show" did not do a full segment on the story, but did feature a news brief at the top of the 8:00am hour by CBS Anchor Meg Oliver:

MEG OLIVER: And now a story that's expected to reverberate throughout the day. The question of sexism in politics. It's of particular interest in Campaign 2008, where a woman has a good chance of becoming a major party nominee. Radio commentator Rush Limbaugh yesterday had some thoughts after seeing this picture of Hillary Clinton posted on the internet. Limbaugh believes Americans are addicted to physical perfection and wonders if this country is ready to watch a woman age in the Oval Office.

RUSH LIMBAUGH: Will Americans want to watch a woman get older before their eyes on a daily basis? And that woman, by the way, is not going to want to look like she's getting older because it'll impact poll numbers, it'll impact perceptions."

OLIVER: Limbaugh also says, as people age, no matter who they are, America loses interest.

CBS apparently latched onto this idea of defending Hillary’s wrinkled pictures late. On Tuesday’s Laura Ingraham show, Ingraham reported she was called by someone from CBS at 11:15 pm on Monday night to do an interview segment on the Hillary-pic controversy – no doubt hoping a conservative woman would defend Hillary against the "sexists," but she declined to respond to the message. Ingraham did suggest to her listeners that picking on Hillary’s aging appearance would help Hillary, which might explain the sudden CBS ardor.