SOTU: Do the math

Posted: Tuesday, January 23, 2007 9:26 PM by Hardball

By Mike Barnicle

Math has never been my strong suit. And I have difficulty balancing my check book. But you don't have to be Stephen Hawking to figure out that A. Nancy Pelosi's outfit cost more than the average American paid for their first home and B. there is a pretty high degree of difficulty involved in balancing the federal budget yet the leader of the free world just told us, "We can do so without raising taxes." And half the people in the hall - Bush's half -stood and cheered.

Huh?

EMAIL THIS

Comments

To be fair, Laura Bush's suit cost more than Nancys!

Karon Tracy, Houston, TX (Sent Tuesday, January 23, 2007 9:32 PM)

Hey Mike, I do not care how much Nancy pays for her clothes as long as she does her job the way it should be done and stops the double talk in Congress. If she does that I think most Americans would not bat an eye at her choice of clothes and there cost. The last Speaker looked as if he slept in his clothes and he did a lousy job in Congress and led the most corrupt and lazy Congress ever.

Elaine Helminiak, Swanton, OH (Sent Tuesday, January 23, 2007 9:45 PM)

Hey Mike, How come suddenly the pundits now refer to the costs of Pelosi's outfits and have never hinted at the costs of the men's suits and ties? What do you 'spose George and Dick spent to outfit themselves for the gala?

Bob Schuh, Avondale, AZ (Sent Tuesday, January 23, 2007 9:45 PM)

Why does this remind me of Oz - "Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain." Does the President really think he can distract us from the mess in Iraq by dragging out some tired old domestic issues? Forget social security - the whole govenment will be bankrupt paying for Iraq if he gets his way.

Teresa, Grandville, MI (Sent Tuesday, January 23, 2007 9:46 PM)

Apparently math is not their strong suit either. I'm having "No new taxes" flash backs.

Jennifer, Huntington, IN (Sent Tuesday, January 23, 2007 9:46 PM)

I agree absolutely about the ridiculous assertion that we can simultaneously enlarge the war and balance the budget without raising taxes. As for the costly outfit of Speaker Pelosi, it is clear to me that V.P. Cheney's handmade suit probably cost three times that of Ms. Pelosi's rather "ordinary" one. Why bring up the cost of the Speaker's clothes now, when we are in "existential" crisis, according to some? Did anyone question the cost of DeLay's or Hastert's or Tip O'Neill's suits?

H Stewart (Sent Tuesday, January 23, 2007 9:47 PM)

Hey Mike. I'm a fan of yours. But that's going to change if you keep talking about Nancy Pelosi's outfits. You think those are cheap suits on the VP or the President? I think not. And it has nothing to do with the fact that Bush lives in fairy-tale land.

Betty, Mt. Laurel, NJ (Sent Tuesday, January 23, 2007 9:48 PM)

That's the point!!!! These speeches (or most political speeches) seem to make assumptions that NOBODY os paying attention. So....am I to understand that while we need Trillions to finance the operation of this country, the best REPS can come up with is to say -- 'thanks, but no thanks' to revenue?

MFK, NH (Sent Tuesday, January 23, 2007 9:49 PM)

really throughin the cowdung around now dang iraq bs.. such a waste for our youth !!

rand pittsburgh pa. (Sent Tuesday, January 23, 2007 9:50 PM)

Why not ask how much Bush's suit,tie, shirt and shoes cost? Odds on they are han tailored as cost atleast as much as Nancy Pelosi's--same for Cheney.

MF Brown (Sent Tuesday, January 23, 2007 10:02 PM)

If he can do it without raising taxes, he will submit a revenue-neutral "emergency" spending bill to pay for the war he left out of the budget. I'll bet he won't.

Jim C, Tallahassee, FL (Sent Tuesday, January 23, 2007 10:14 PM)

Sincerely hope you have more commentary to offer than speculation about Nancy Pelosi's outfit. That was unfortunate, but irresistible, apparently. Try harder, please.

Simone McDonald, Topeka, KS (Sent Tuesday, January 23, 2007 10:38 PM)

What's with all the sexist focus on Pelosi's clothing? Knock it off and treat her like you would have treated Hastert or any other man. Unless she wears something truly bizarre or otherwise noteworthy, or calls attention to her clothing herself, it's off topic K?

Dan D, Toronto, Canada (Sent Tuesday, January 23, 2007 10:48 PM)

shame on you for trying to break a credible woman leader by commenting on her wardrobe. What man would have to put up with that. Tell me sexism is dead! Clearly not.

SK (Sent Tuesday, January 23, 2007 10:49 PM)

Shame on you for focusing on Ms. Pelosi's clothes. What about Bush and Cheney's suits? Your sexism is disgusting. We have plenty of important issues to discuss in this country.

Rob Coughlin (Sent Tuesday, January 23, 2007 10:50 PM)

That has to be the most sexist remark I've ever seen...please, talking about Nancy Pelosi's clothes!!! How much do you think Dennis Hastert's suits or any other Washington politicians clothes cost for that matter. Welcome to the 21st century! We women have jobs and college degrees now, or doesn't your cave get cable?

Melissa Jones, Denver, Colorado (Sent Tuesday, January 23, 2007 10:52 PM)

I have to add to the chorus of outrage that the cost of Nancy Pelosi's outfit recieved note - in the hisotry of state of the union addresses when has the cost of anybody's attire been commented On? As my 9 year old used ot say " Oh PUH-lease!" To add insult to injury - that portion of the comment is featuredon the crawl at the bottom of the screen. Do better.

Terry Mahoney 333 Oxford Rd Waukesha, WI (Sent Tuesday, January 23, 2007 10:57 PM)

Barnicle should be ashamed of this intellectually offensive attempt to put the onus of economic injustice on Nancy Pelosi's wardrobe rather than in the lap of the corporate whores of the GOP. It's pathetic. Sounds like something Karl Rove asked him to blog in exchange for a fee. Then MSNBC has the gall to run it on the crawl. Shame on them.

Steve Marvin (Sent Tuesday, January 23, 2007 11:11 PM)

Hey Mike, what's on your 1040 this year?

Dave in Sharon, MA (Sent Tuesday, January 23, 2007 11:19 PM)

Shame on you and Mr. Hawking to even bring up the issue of Nancy Pelosi's suit. This would not even have been mentioned if she wasn't a woman. It's 2007 people. Shame, shame. Shows there should be more women bloggers on MSNBC?

N. Caro (Sent Tuesday, January 23, 2007 11:22 PM)

Just want to add my support to the folks who are decrying your comment about Speaker Pelosi's clothes. It was uncalled for and sexist.

Nina Koch, Sanford ME (Sent Tuesday, January 23, 2007 11:37 PM)

Mike, I really thought that you were better than this. What did you want? Would Nancy look better if she was barefoot and pregnant? We, Americans judge others by how they look. It is sad, but true. If she wore a cheap suit, everyone would focus on how tacky she dressed - by everyone I mean Tucker. Don't go here again if you value your reputation.

Kay (Sent Tuesday, January 23, 2007 11:44 PM)

Sexiest and pitiful for you to mention clothing of Speaker of the House. I will make sure not to watch or connect to msnbc web page again. Get over the fact the majority of work force/ tax force are women. Smart people boycott this station and demand to see the prices of their clothes. Oh, and an apoligy for being stupid and sexiest!!!!

Laura Davis, Concord, North Carolina (Sent Tuesday, January 23, 2007 11:44 PM)

Laura Davis, Concord, North Carolina (Sent Tuesday, January 23, 2007 11:46 PM)

I like you and agree with much of what you said, but lets talk perspective,of if you are anecdoting that the clothes Nancy Pelosi wore were valued at the price of a home would the anecdote of the watch on Dick Cheneys wrist be what a Republican pays for a vacation home in Lake Tahoe ? His suit is probably only a Lexus, poor guy. Sexist does not work for you -give it up.

Maryanne McCarthy, New Windsor, NY (Sent Wednesday, January 24, 2007 12:12 AM)

Amen to the others posting before me. Mike, you might want to watch Olbermann tomorrow and see if your are one of the worst people in the world. Cracking wise about the price of the clothes of the Speaker of the House of Representatives? Unbelievably tacky. You completely devalued any other comments you made. If Speaker Pelosi were to wear a suit like the male members of the Congress, she'd be called mannish or butch. If she bought her clothes at the thrift shop, she'd be accused of looking bad, being cheap, or disrespecting the President and the country. If she had chosen bright colors, she'd have been accused of trying to distract from the President. Instead she wore appropriate clothes for the situation - and you have the nerve portray her as wantonly extravagant. She's an important woman in a position of power appearing in a national setting and your comment was imbecilic.

D. Tepe, Maineville, OH (Sent Wednesday, January 24, 2007 12:22 AM)

I've enjoyed your columns in the past, but what were you thinking by commenting on her clothing? Jeez, if people are looking at the Speaker, they're looking at facial expressions, not the cut of her suit. Why not comment on Condi or Hillary's or Cheney's outfit while you're at it?

Pat McCarthy, Easton, CT (Sent Wednesday, January 24, 2007 12:33 AM)

It's quite typical for a man to criticize a woman's appearance (in this case, clothing) when he has nothing of merit to say. I can guarantee the men in Washington have wasted far more of my tax dollars than the women ever will.

Lila Perilloux (Sent Wednesday, January 24, 2007 8:37 AM)

Probably similar to what a top female banking executive might pay for an outfit Mike?

Andrew Doyle (Sent Wednesday, January 24, 2007 4:10 PM)

SEND A COMMENT

PLEASE READ: All comments must be approved before appearing in the thread; time and space constraints prevent all comments from appearing. We will only approve comments that are directly related to the blog, use appropriate language and are not attacking the comments of others.

Message (please, no HTML tags. Web addresses will be hyperlinked):

Your name, city and state (John Doe, Seattle, Wash.):

Your e-mail address (jdoe@msnbc.com):

Your website (it's okay if you don't have one):

Remember me? (We'll keep it private) Remember me?

TRACKBACKS

Trackbacks are links to weblogs that reference this post. Like comments, trackbacks do not appear until approved by us. The trackback URL for this post is: http://hardblogger.msnbc.msn.com/trackback.aspx?PostID=39303

The Essentials

More Hardblogger

Recent Posts:

Archives:

Authors:

Syndicate This Site

Add Hardblogger to your news reader:

ABOUT HARDBLOGGER