Whatever happened to good old-fashioned American know-how, pulling yourself up from the bootstraps, proving to the world you have the mettle to succeed on your own raw talent? If you’re Paris Hilton or, say, the Huffington Post — none of those good ol’ values amount to a hill of beans! The Huffington Post, the website famous for slapping left-wing bias on mainstream news, recently hired Ethan Axelrod — you may have heard of his dad, David Axelrod: the celebrated image-maker of the Obama campaign. Given the Huffington Post is all snuggles with the Obama Administration, the news might come as no surprise.
Lefty-types are always making room for their own, so long as you have a famous last name or a privileged pedigree. For a bunch that loves to push for “universalizing” and “leveling the playing field,” they sure are elitist! This is the world where Anderson Cooper, scion of Gloria Vanderbilt, is handed the keys to CNN. Al Gore’s daughter Kristin nabs a dream job writing for Matt Groening’s “Futurama” straight out of college. Oh sure, it helped that Poppa Gore agreed to guest star twice (but only if his young daughter could direct). Gore went on to appear as a disembodied head (yes, the show ‘jumped the shark’). Is Huffington Post banking on access to daddy Axelrod’s head, too? ‘Wink, wink,’ welcome aboard Ethan…
While most twenty-somethings are scratching heads struggling to pay student loans, or dulling the pain of graduating smack in the middle of one of the worst economies in a generation, Axelrod’s lad and many more celebuspawn have found a gravy train over at the Huffington Post… “Ethan, let us introduce you to Nicholas Graham (of the Washington Post Grahams), Elyssa Spitzer (you remember her famous dad Eliot) — oh, and here’s Tom Hanks’ daughter Liz!” Sure is cozy.
Let’s be clear: being born to the rich, famous or powerful is great — more power to you! In fact, without nepotism we may never have had Liza Minelli, George Clooney, Drew Barrymore or Hank Williams Jr. But you wonder: does the Axelrod hire make the Huffington Post an adjunct arm of the Obama 2012 re-election campaign? After all, it is worth noting he is to be the Editor of the Huffington Post’s Colorado edition. Heady stuff for a fresh-faced college kid — what qualifies him to be editor anyway? Yearbook experience? A cool Facebook page? Oh yeah, I keep forgetting — his dad runs Obama’s campaigns.
You remember Colorado – the Red State Obama is turning Blue — dumping millions of dollars there for a win in 2008 (well done Poppa Axelrod!). No doubt, Ethan’s role as Editor will establish a liberal media bulkhead right in the heart of Denver. Ethan told the Washington Post, “I’ve been interested in journalism for a while.” Really — who knew there were journalists at Huffington Post?! I know, I know, the kid is green… not to pick on his poor choice of words, but he IS going to be editing for one of the largest outlets for commentary in the nation. So, let’s at least get the job description straight, shall we? I think it reads something like this: Wanted — Editor for Obama’s stealthy online and messaging arm in a 2012 battleground state — relatives who run Obama’s re-election campaign a plus.
As for the untold countless others out there cashing in on moms, dads, aunts and uncles — c’est la vie. Who can blame them in today’s tough times? Like Ethan Axelrod so honestly said of snagging the Huffington Post gig, “I heard through my father that they were expanding, so I applied for it.” Calls to David Axelrod and Arianna Huffington from media organizations curious about motives and favoritism in hiring were not returned.
But an echo could be heard from a distant ivory tower: “Let them eat cake!”
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