Pundit compares Hillary's cleavage to Barry Bonds' alleged doping
The debate among Washington journalists on NBC's Meet the Press Sunday briefly devolved into a discussion of Hillary Clinton's bosom.
NBC correspondent Andrea Mitchell defended the New York senator, saying Clinton's cleavage-barring top recently critiqued by the Washington Post's fashion critic was not as scandalous as it had been presented.
"This was so marginal. This was like microscopic evidence of ... inappropriate attire," Mitchell said.
Wall Street Journal writer John Harwood defended the piece, saying it is appropriate to examine every aspect of presidential candidates' appearances because the candidates themselves scrutinize the public face they present to the world.
"When you look ... at the calculation that goes into everything that Hillary Clinton does, for her to argue that she was not aware of what she was communicating by her dress is like Barry Bonds saying he though he was rubbing down with flaxseed oil," said Harwood, who also is CNBC's chief Washington correspondent.
Harwood was referring to reports that the San Francisco Giants slugger told a grand jury he used a clear substance and a cream given to him by a trainer, but was unaware the substances were steroids.
Post fashion critic Robin Givhan spent nearly 750 words examining Clinton's attire during a Senate debate in an article printed earlier this month. Clinton's campaign used the article in a fundraising appeal aimed at women, Mitchell noted.
"And if Hillary Clinton ... can connect with women and say, 'You see what we have to put up with? This is the way they trivialize us,' it helps her on -- in just about every level," Mitchell said.
The following video is from NBC's Meet the Press, broadcast on July 29.
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