We have frequently shaken our head at Bluestem Prairie over the proclivity of the mainstream media to focus in on hair styles and clothes rather than substance in politicians.
Turns out, we're not the only ones noticing the fluffiness. In Friday's letters in the Strib, we found these complaints:
Not the primary issue
I was a bit disturbed to see so much time and space given to the story on Michele Bachmann's wardrobe choices and fashion sense ("Bringing a touch of haute to U.S. House," Nov. 20).
What's next? Will we be seeing monthly updates on her hairstyle and makeup choices? Does she wax or tweeze? I didn't see any attention being given to what Keith Ellison and Tim Walz will be wearing this season.
While Bachmann's appearance might get her noticed on Capital Hill, let's hope she doesn't forget the reason she is there. Her "image" may be of huge importance to her, but I think the people of Minnesota will be much more concerned about "substance," the direction she takes with her duties as our representative.
CONNIE ALBERS, NORTHFIELD, MINN.
A sexist article
Tim Walz in the Everyman denim work jacket ... Mark Kennedy raiding Rudy Boschwitz's Plywood Minnesota wardrobe ... Jim Oberstar decked out head-to-toe in bicyclist racing Lycra? These are feature stories that I missed in the Star Tribune. Fortunately, I caught the one on Rep.-elect Michele Bachmann and her impeccable sense of style.
I'll give her that, but unless she is expected to conduct her town-hall forums from the catwalk, what's the point of the story? This may be the type of story former Rep. Coya "come back to the farm" Knudson would have recognized.
CURT YOAKUM, ST. PAUL
Sorry, Curt, but the Strib's Bob von Sternberg wrote about Walz's clothes just after the election: "Reminded he was due for an interview on CNN, he glanced at his torn jeans and University of Minnesota T-shirt. "I guess I'm going to have to change clothes," he said."
But was Gil Gutknecht's hair that got the attention in the First.
Early in October, MPR thought Gil Gutknecht's slender physique and flawless hair were newsworthy contrasts to Walz, the "burly, gray-haired guy."
OLLIE OX UPDATE: PIPRESS WEIGHS IN
The editorial board at the PiPress gets a chance to twit the Strib along with its readers:
Still waiting are we for the breathless coverage about U.S. Rep.-elect Tim Walz's fashion choices as he takes his new seat in Congress. We are sure it will rival the descriptions of U.S. Rep.-elect Michele Bachmann, whose upswept hair and mid-thigh-length black brocade coat and black pencil pants and double-strand of pearls and drop earrings were described in such detail in the Other Paper.
So we offer this: "Tim Walz, Minnesota's hot new congressman-elect, waltzed into Congress sporting a stay-the-course buzz cut and a blue blazer to die for. His middle-of-the-road Oxford cloth shirt was set off by a red-and-blue striped tie that resembled the Electoral College map …"
Alas, clothing choices mainly matter for women. We already hear jokes about Speaker-elect Nancy Pelosi (the first woman to hold that position) and her possibly-botoxed forehead; we don't recall critiques of outgoing Speaker Dennis Hastert's ample waistline or his aviator eyeglass frames.
Actually, we know of several critiques of the representative-elect's appearance, but in the true Walzian spirit of moderation and civility, decline to share them.
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