ISP: The Clinton Cackle
Video: I found a link on Digg to an article from the July 1943 issue of Transportation Magazine.
At the time, with the nation at war and many young men serving overseas, it became a necessity to incorporate women into the workplace in a variety of industries. The article deals specifically with transportation and transit jobs, and provides some "tips" for male managers seeking to employ women.
The laughable list speaks for itself, and it's clear that women have come a long way since then. Today a woman is the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination, Sen. Hillary Clinton. While her challenger Sen. Barack Obama may outpace her in third quarter fundraising totals, she has a double digit lead over him—and every other Democrat—in nearly every national poll right now.
She's also getting the most inches and airtime as columnists and pundits dissect her campaign from every angle. The issue du jour seems to be her laugh, dubbed "The Clinton Cackle."
Youtubers have strung together montages of her recent media appearances, and, indeed, there is a quality to this cackle that makes "and your little dog, too," an appropriate next line. But what of it?
Is it just a tick, an involuntary response? Or, is it a misfired attempt to have a sense of humor. Voters will ultimately decide if it even matters, but in the meantime, here she is with our very own Bob Schieffer, who probably had no idea he was so entertaining.
Today on ISP, we also take a look at Paris Hilton's recent appearance on Letterman. Was it fair of Dave to hammer the jail joke for so long during the interview? Admittedly it was funny, but she seemed a bit hurt by it. Do we care?
And another big story online today, Radiohead's new album is set to come out in a few days online, and you can already reserve your download on their website right now. The band is wildly popular, but I was a bit confused about why there would be such a mad rush that the site would crash.
Turns out, there's a gimmick. Radiohead is letting buyers name their price—any amount you want to pay is just fine. As I said on ISP, it seems like a guilt trip to me. "Tell us what we're worth. Don't hurt our feelings!"
For the record industry, I'm sure it's a bit more serious than that. I'm curious to see what kind of impact this have, and if other artists follow.