Maureen Dowd is a giantess among men on the New York Times Op-Ed Page, always on hand with a pithy comment, a scathing put-down, and sometimes even a relevant point. She wears the mantle of a liberal and routinely trashes the Right, and when I started reading the Times years ago she was a kind of hero of mine. But eventually I noticed, not being overly quick on the uptake sometimes, that she trashes the Left too. She regularly lambasted Gore and Kerry during those abysmal election years of 2000 and 2004, perhaps even more viciously than she lambasted Bush. She devoted an entire column to the fact that Wesley Clark, while still in the race, wore an argyle sweater. She went after Howard Dean's wife. She went after Kerry's wife. She reinforced John Edwards' Breck Girl nickname. She mocked Kerry for his macho posturing. More recently, she's devoted entire columns to the fact that Edwards got an expensive haircut and that Barak Obama, or Obambi, as she has taken to calling him, is emasculated by his whip-smart, beautiful, successful wife. These are not the issues that effect our lives, and these are not the reasons to trash our politicians. Now I'm not a big fan of politicians in general, and I'm sure there are innumerable valid reasons to dislike any and all of them. But their choice of hair, sweater, sports, or spouse should generally not be among them. Maureen Dowd does more to encourage the ridiculous stereotypes of the weak, if liberal, emasculated male and the shrill, if liberal, shrewish woman than anyone I can think of, and she's on our side?
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I came across your post because, after glancing at Dowd's column today I finally wondered, am I the only one who's allergic to her writing? So I googled "I hate Maureen Dowd" and here I am. As a long-time reader of the Times, my opinion about Dowd is firm and immutable:
--columns devoid of any trace of substance: I never learned anything in her column that I did not know before
--opinions based on raw, untreated emotion, wrapped in quirky language to allude to higher reasoning.
--never saw one nice thing she wrote about anyone (I could be wrong here because, even after years of trying, I can never read past the first paragraph)
It is a pity that such pathological pessimism finds regular shelter in the op-ed pages of the Times.
I just goggle, I hate Maureen Dowd and here I am. Boy do I HATE her. I know hate is such a strong word. But I do. I think her writing is terrible. And on top of it, she is a mean-spirited, self-obsessed person.
I also Googled "Maureen Dowd hates Hillary" and got a surprising number of hits. Not just me noticing her decline I guess. I used to look forward to her columns, agree or disagree. Now she is approaching obsession with trashing Mrs. Clinton and smooching Mr. Obama. (Someone said we should get back to some politeness in the media world and I agree). She is reaching the Ignore level I give to Ann Coulter. Oh well....
After Maureen Dowd's column today on why Bill Clinton is a terrible person for campaigning for his wife, I can officially say that Maureen Dowd is a giant d-bag. Even worse, it makes me sad that she and I share similar anatomical parts of the female gender. MAUREEN DOWD SUCKS!
Add another name to the list of people brought here by googling "I hate Maureen Dowd."
I am a liberal Democrat and I hate her not for her opinions but for her godawful writing. Her most wonderfully awful piece ever was the one she wrote in response to being personally confronted in public by Monica Lewinsky, and being left speechless when Monica said, "Why do you write such mean things about me?" Of course, this did not teach her any shame but merely was the inspiration for her writing out, like George on Seinfeld, what she thinks she should have said. (Oddly, she doesn't get Seinfeld -- she once wrote a piece about it -- but she does live it).
Anyhow, I think she and Frank Rich get together to decide which one has dibs on which pop culture reference to compare with the Bush Administration. They are both such fucking rote writers and I do hope that the endless supply of wordy asswipes provided free on the internet will one day undermine their existence as undeservedly published writers.
Like everyone else said, I too Googled "I hate Maureen Dowd" and came upon your post. I can confirm everyone else's points about how her writing has no substance and is basically a forum for her to air what she thinks are clever quips, but I have one more to add: after seeing her on Conan O'Brien and hearing her on NPR, I really hate her voice and profound self-satisfaction. There was also that manifesto that she wrote a few years ago about why men don't like smart women, which is fortunately a sweeping generalization and not true at all. But anyway, I had to vent.
you can also get to this by googling "maureen dowd sucks"
This is hysterical. I, too, got here by googling "I hate Maureen Dowd" and I did an advanced search, exact phrase.
Before that I plugged in "I can't stand Maureen Dowd", but before I was finished with the sentence it was autofilled. That is, I typed "I can't stand" and the next thing I knew, "Maureen Dowd" showed up automatically.
Which means that some time ago, I must have already googled this, and forgot about it but my computer didn't, and that I really should find better ways to spend my time.
But yes, I agree with what everyone's said and in my case it is her rantings against Hillary (comparing her to Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction and what-not) that have particularly turned me against her.
She spews a lot of irrespnsible, sour, un-insightful 'insights', and worse, is barely even funny.
In fact, I get more of a kick out of reading Ann Coulter's opinions these days. (and with that, i've probably lost support of all my fellow Maureen-Dowd haters...but it's the truth)
Hahah -- chalk up yet another for finding this page by googling "Maureen Dowd sucks!"
Okay I'm here because I also googled "Maureen Dowd sucks." I used to be a HUGE FAN. There was this one column I read in high school that totally ignited my passion for political journalism and had me admiring her great wit--I don't remember the exact context, but essentially something in the news contained subliminal messaging, and then Dowd wrote her own column with a hidden message. I thought it was quite funny.
But I find her coverage of Hillary SO UNFAIR. Listen, I'll admit it: I was a Hillary supporter. Even though I'm a young person, I came out in favor of her. But listen: I LOVE BARACK OBAMA. Like most fair-minded people I could see pluses and minuses to both of their candidacies. But Dowd is SO EXTREME, SO HARSH on Hillary (and Bill) that I think the comparison to Ann Coulter is sort of apt. I mean what is the source of the absolute contempt she has for the Clintons? Do I like the way Bill embarrassed/scarred our nation with his scandal, or covered Hillary in the sleaze of the Clinton name? OF COURSE NOT. Did/do I feel extremely disappointed/let down? Yes. But Dowd seems to just be compensating for a lack of wit/insight by hammering them with her scorn (to make her column "the most emailed"?).
But honestly Hillary Clinton is a strong, smart, accomplished person and she does not deserve Dowd's most recent treatment: "It would have been better to put this language in the platform: “A woman who wildly mismanages and bankrupts a quarter-of-a-billion-dollar campaign operation, and then blames sexism in society, will dampen the dreams of our daughters.”"
YES, HILLARY CLINTON HAS NEVER BEEN THE TARGET OF SEXISM. SHE'S A HYSTERICAL FAKER WHO BLAMES ALL HER MASSIVE FAILURES ON A VAST RIGHT-WING CONSPIRACY OF SEXISM THAT DOESN'T EXIST IN AMERICA. FURTHERMORE, THAT SEXISM WAS NOT IN PLAY IN 2007-2008 (HOW COULD IT HAVE BEEN) AND CLINTON'S NARROW DEFEAT CAN ONLY BE BLAMED ON HER WILD MISMANAGEMENT WHICH WAS JUST SO GODDAMNED WILD.
I'll exhibit the fair-mindedness that MD lacks:
MAUREEN DOWD HAS BEEN SUCKING LATELY, ESP. RE: HER TREATMENT OF HILLARY CLINTON.
I *love* all of these comments (got here googling "maureen dowd sucks"). It's been beyond frustrating, and today's column is so hateful, so mean-spirited that at one point I thought it to be satire. She couldn't possibly think these things, could she? Her personal animus against the Clintons is terrifying. I wonder if there was some slight made at her in the 90s and she's carried the grudge ever since.
Me too! I too googled "I hate Maureen Dowd." Thanks for giving me a place to end up!
I too think she sucks.
I agree with all above. Her wit does not compensate for complete lack of substance on issues that matter or should matter most. She's sounds incredibly bitter and self-absorbed and this column is her catharsis and self-therapy. Andrew W.
She's not even worth hating these days, she's just boring!!!
Even when she has a point ("The snippy McCain snipers once loved Palin’s sassy ability to burn Barack Obama and Joe Biden with snide little remarks") she's just hateful about it.
Am so relieved to find a community of fellow Dowdaphobes. I began by googling "women who have set back the women's movement" and her name. No one seems to have explicitly made that point yet, but that's what drives me crazy about her. It's not just that her columns are insipid and inappropriately vituperative. For me, it's the fact that she is probably the single-most prominent woman in American journalism today, and she uses that perch to reinforce the most simplistic and damaging gender stereotypes -- that men must be macho, that strong wives are dangerous, that clothing matters deeply, etc. What sent me over the edge today wasn't even a political column; it was her piece on Tina Fey in the current Vanity Fair. Here she is writing about one of the smartest, most successful women in television, and MOST of the article is about whether or not TF is beautiful, fat, etc. Dowd must be stopped!
For what it's worth, I would put her 3rd on my list of women who have set back the women's movement, right behind Phyllis Schlafly and Sarah Palin.
Liz, I'm in complete agreement with you, thank you for putting it so well. She often reinforces the worst of the gender stereotypes that we have spent generations struggling to overcome.
I also agree with all of the above. Next Halloween I am dressing up as a witch and telling everyone I am supposed to be Maureen Dowd.
got here by googling 'I hate Maureen Dowd'. There isn't much to add to previous comments - I agree with everything. Allergic to her writing is the best way to put it. I don't understand how the New York Times can actually print her week after week after week...
"The bank cloaks itself in a philanthropic glow while wasting our money, acting like the American Cancer Society when in fact it’s a cancer on American society."
Ugh
I'm so sick of this woman too. She is so tiring. She used to be a hero of sorts of mine too. Now it's down to Rich, Krugman, et. al. Seriously, the editorial page of the best paper in the world needs rid of this skank.
Hahaha, I found this site by googling the old, "I hate Maureen Dowd." Great criticism, I completely agree, the woman is the depravity of American Media incarnate, as bad as Ann Coulter for sure.
If I have to hear about Michelle's "sinewy" arms one more time, I'm gonna scream. Yeah, the gal's got great arms. But don't these people have anything better to write about, for god's sake?
Maureen Dowd or Moron Dowd? She is not a writer but uses this platform to be a vindictive bitch!
BREAKING NEWS, fellow Dowdaphobes! Check out today's Op-Ed in the NYT http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/29/opinion/29dowd.html For the first time ever, MD gets it right on not one but TWO women, including her favorite punching bag, Hillary Clinton! Believe it or not, she discusses HC and Sarah Palin for their merits, not their clothes, their arm muscles, or their husbands. Is this the dawn of a new era, or just a fluke? Only time will tell ...
I also got here by searching for, "I hate Maureen Down."
She is a poor thinker, her prose is terrible, and she is also a hypocrite.
I think the term cunt sums it up nicely.
Alas, time has told:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/05/opinion/05dowd.html
We're right back to the old gender stereotypes and snide, irrelevant comments about the personal lives of political figures, in place of any depth of analysis.
Clinton's response to the question didn't made her look "unhinged." And no one would say that about a man. With maybe the exception of Sanford's public address about his lovey Argentine soulmate. But still. Clinton could destroy Sanford with a look.
Hello, add another one. I got here when i googled "Maureen Dowd Sucks." I am fairly progressive so I may agree with her overall viewpoint. But her columns seems to focus on the trivial. Snarky remarks, put-downs, and writing on pure emotion seem to be her Modus operandi. Her talents would likely be more welcome, and better appreciated in a gossip magazine or tabloid.
Maureen's writing is just psycho-babble disguised as insight. If you look closely, her writing reads less like a definitive editorial one more like an acerbic gossip column. She feeds celebrities to the lions because they served a lesser brand of tea on the patio. She'll spend entire paragraphs on that tea - and then tell you why this clearly means their career is over.
Which means, she is a dreadful commentator, but probably an amusing party guest; the Dorothy Parker of our time.
One day we'll realize that clever smarmy observations are perfect for a Jerry Seinfeld routine, but should probably be beneath the pages of the New York Times. I wouldn't hold my breath for that day though.
We live in a time where opinion delivered with a little style, flair and charisma is worth more than research, facts and a well constructed argument.
Maureen is a reflection of our time's obsession with trivia and snide opinion.
Also googled "i hate maureen dowd." Fuck you MD!
I can't stand Maureen Dowd either. She writes like a bitchy, spoiled little girl having a tantrum. Like all catty people, she needs a pacifier.
I think Maureen Dowd is jealous, envious, and sexist, against smart women, especially if they are with powerful men that she might fancy.
I think she now hates Obama probably because the latter never invited her to a private sit-down dinner or something.
She is bitter against men (who don't want her) and against women (who are better than her).
A typical high school mean girl.
Also googled "Maureen Dowd sucks".
Also Googled "maureen dowd sucks".
Maureen Dowd sucks brought me here. Amen.
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