Republicans and the Disney Difference
One other State of the Union comment, then I’m done.
During Sir Mr. President’s introduction of the honored guests sitting with his lovely bride, I was struck by the choice to honor Julie Aigner-Clark, and said to my husband, “Isn’t that odd?”
I couldn’t put my finger on it at the time. My only thought was that they needed to honor a successful businessman, you know, a rags-to-riches story, and it was even better that he was a she. And that the she had good hair.
The next day I realized what was up: the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood had already, last year, filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission against Aigner-Clark’s company, Baby Einstein. The complaint stated that Baby Einstein (and another company):
should not be able to say their products inspire “logical thinking,” foster “the development of your toddler’s speech and language skills,” or give “your child a jumpstart on learning.”
See, Aigner-Clark’s company, worth $200 million before she sold in to the Walt Disney Company in 2001, made videos for babies. Educational videos. For babies.
I guess if she had started her company later, she could have had the benefit of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ 2002 study that found babies and toddlers are already watching too much television for their own good.
Because no one would have been able to figure that out without a study.
I’m not alone on this. But I’m not so annoyed with Ms. Aigner-Clark. I’m sure her intentions are good. But why would the Republicans pick her out as a model during the year that Bush’s No Child Left Behind is under the microscope? When we know that reading to children — as early as infancy — is one of the single most important things you can do to ready your child for school? What were his people thinking?
Oh yeah. Three letters: D I S.
January 29th, 2007 at 2:49 pm
You know, I was actually wondering about that whole section of the President’s speech - that whole honoring a bunch of people for what seemed to be unrelated topics. The nearest I could figure is that he has to use the stories of real people so that he can make us all feel good about the rest of what he’s selling us. They are the snow job. If I were one of them, I’d be ticked.
January 29th, 2007 at 6:04 pm
Nice post today, Lisa. Just don’t lovely bride me. I know a lovely bride when I see one.
And speaking of Norm Coleman’s lovely asset, did you hear Juan William’s interview today on NPR with Our President? Williams played a tape of a Forest Lake, MN, army specialist in Iraq named Ryan Schmidt asking what Mr. Bush’s plan was in case this troop surge doesn’t work. In a rare bit of candor, Mr. Bush responded, “I guess we’re all f***ed.”
Really. You can read it for yourself.
January 30th, 2007 at 6:02 pm
Mr. Lipschutz….I would certainly hope that your reference to Mr. Bush’s remarks is an attempt at being facetious. It certainly is not factual.
January 30th, 2007 at 10:28 pm
Ms. Becker:
Thank you.
For some reason, at first I thought Mr. Bush said, “I put [the troop surge] in place against the advice of a lot of smart people, particulary the military people who think it will not work, including fired senior commander General George Casey and CentCom commander John Abizaid, who opposed the war, and General William Odom, former NSA Director under President Reagan, who called the war the ‘greatest strategic disaster in American history.’”
What President Bush actually said was, “I put [the troop surge] in place on the advice of a lot of smart people, particularly the military people who think it will work.”
After rereading that transcript, I stand corrected, and graciously thank you for your clarification.
March 7th, 2008 at 8:52 am
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