If there is one thing that can be relied on in today’s inconsistent world, it is that those in the limelight will always be criticized. It may be an award show dispute between Miley Cyrus and Nicki Minaj, or condescending questions from the MSNB moderators during the last GOP debate. Either way, those in the eye of the public are always being discussed.
Why is it admirable when celebrities fight back against criticism, but not stately when politicians speak up to their critics?
"The View’s" Joy Behar and Michelle Collins attacked GOP presidential candidate Carly Fiorina’s appearance in regard to the last GOP debate. In particular, the two hosts seemed to struggle with Fiorina’s smile, noting that she looked demented — so much so that they wished that her face was a Halloween mask.
Fiorina is in the limelight because she put herself there. It is obvioous that she expected daytime TV hosts to badger her stance on equal pay for women and her stance on immigration — maybe she even expected the occasional comments on her dress suit.
However, this type of trash-talking is something that even the hosts of "The View" should be above. Nonetheless, Fiorina responded with unwavering confidence and genuine class.
Classy. Strong. Precise.
Fiorina responds to every political question and every criticism of her political views using those three methods. It is in this way that every celebrity stands up for themselves.
In her response to the hosts of ABC’s "The View," she proved that she was able to squash political issues with her tactful, truthful and refreshingly concise responses. This is how she tackles social jabs, too.
After adding that the women of "The View" don't scare her, Fiorina said, “I will face the ladies of ‘The View’ for the second time Friday. I’m looking forward to it. I don’t need an apology… my message to the ladies of 'The View' is 'man up.' If you want to debate me on policies, the Obama administration, for example, has been bad for women, Planned Parenthood is harvesting baby parts — if you don’t like those facts or those messages, man up and debate me on them. But don’t sink to talking about my face.”
She took a topic that is equivalent to that of a seventh grade girl’s lunch table conversation and squashed it by dismissing the catty comment and returning the focus back onto topics of value.
“Frankly, I’m tried of being insulted by liberal feminists who talk about women’s issues when the reality is every issue is a woman’s issue — from the economy to ISIS to Russia to healthcare to education to the national debt — women care about all of that. So, I am really sorry that I don’t agree with the women of "The View." Nevertheless, I am going to continue to stand up, stand strong, talk about what I believe in, and I am Hillary Clinton’s worst nightmare as a result.”
Fiorina is not turning this into an issue of women being treated differently in the media and politics than men, nor is she belittling her classiness by responding to the women with some backhanded argument.
If you do not like her for her undeniable work ethic, impressive leadership qualities, genuine interest in the American people and admirable debate skills, then you very well may be able to side with her on her handling of this issue.
Fiorina is just one example of the notion that politicians are supposed to save their come backs for the debate stage. If people are ignorantly speaking about her, Fiorina has just as much of a right as celebrities to use publicity to address critics.
Reach the columnist at Alexis.Berdine@asu.edu or follow @AlexisBerdine on Twitter
Editor’s note: The opinions presented in this column are the author’s and do not imply any endorsement from The State Press or its editors.
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