'The View' Panelists (Except Joy) Slam Newsweek's Palin Cover

It was heartening to see that the panelists on The View -- with the exception of Joy Behar -- put politics aside and agreed that for Newsweek editors to put former GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin on the cover while wearing jogging shorts was demeaning and disrepectful. (The link to a terrible quality video of the segment is here. You have to really punch the volume up to hear it.)

I don't care that Palin originally posed for that photo for Runner's World, a magazine where men and women appear in running attire and in which her photo was in the proper context. She did NOT pose for that photo with the intention that it would be on the cover of a news magazine that parses all things politics and national events. This was just not right and is a naked example of media bias.

Here's the lame explanation offered by Newsweek's editor Jon Meacham:

"We chose the most interesting image available to us to illustrate the theme of the cover, which is what we always try to do. We apply the same test to photographs of any public figure, male or female: does the image convey what we are saying? That is a gender-neutral standard."

Sorry Mr. Meacham, I'm not buyin' it. You wouldn't be doing this to Hillary Clinton or Michelle Obama or Nancy Pelosi.

Suburban Mom's Political Fix: Poll Respondents Say Media Demonstrate a Gender Bias

The Daily Beast, a new web site created by Tina Brown, commissioned a poll of 1,000 voters conducted in the days immediately after the election. The results present an interesting snapshot of folks' thoughts about this past election and the issue of sexism in light of Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin's candidacies. Among the findings:

-- 57 percent said the media have a gender bias, while 79 percent said the media treat male and female political candidates differently.

-- While most rejected the term "feminist," they resoundingly rejected the notion that because of how this presidential campaign unfolded and the ensuing treatment of Clinton and Palin, we won't likely see more women vying for top elected offices in the near future.

-- 64 percent strongly disagreed with the notion that men are more suited to be president.

-- 74 percent strongly disagreed with the idea that female political candidates are more emotional.

-- When it came to their perception of the climate for women in general, respondents said women are not treated equally at work, in politics or in the military. Home was the only place where a majority of those polled said women are treated equally. (I for one, would take issue with the issue of equity at home.)

Agree or disagree with the findings? Think the media demonstrated a gender bias toward Clinton and Palin?