Nice to know that there is so little news (Iraq, infrastructure, SCHIPS, Supreme Court, all quiet on those fronts, eh?) that Wapo can devote John Solomon as well as Robin Givhan  to the hair and cleavage beat.

 From Alternet :

 Miniscandals about politicians' haircuts are more like Chia pets than human heads of hair. They don't grow on their own. They require reporters to pursue and water them with investigations into the practices and prices of high-end barbers; only then is national attention focused on who and what presidential candidates pay for their monthly snips. The Torrenueva profile didn't offer "some kind of commentary" on the state of American politics so much as it offered insight into the peculiar priorities of its author, Post money and politics reporter John Solomon.

If Solomon were some deadbeat alt-weekly columnist with a grudge against Edwards, the haircut story would make for mere humor, but the Post has reach far beyond its own pages -- it's one of a handful of media outlets that can establish diehard narratives about politicians that can dog them for decades. The Post in Solomon’s hands is a weapon that can almost single-handedly force Edwards or another candidate off their campaign focus. In the case of Edwards, that means a total distraction from trying to start a national discussion on poverty issues.

Go check out the full story for Solomon's full anti-democratic CV. 

 What I've heard about Solomon is that he's not so much ideological as a lazy and willing tool for the story of least resistance.  He did it at the AP with Harry Reid, ginning up a non-existent controversy about boxing tickets, and now he's doing it to various Democratic leaders as a way to curry editorial favor in Fred Hiatt's little shop of journalistic horrors.

 Mama Solomon must be so proud. 

tags: john solomon  john edwards  harry reid  wapo  washington post  

links: digg this    del.icio.us    technorati    reddit