1. It is a measure of how emotional this election season has made many of us that when Kurt Andersen wrote about his (and the broader media’s) fondness for Barack Obama (“The Imperial City: About That Crush on Obama,” May 12), he inspired a lovefest on nymag.com for … Hillary Clinton (!), as well as a ritualized trashing of Obama specifically and the media generally. As one commenter remarked, “Wow, this message board has been seriously bum-rushed by the anti-Obama folks.” Yes, it had been. One reader referred to the junior senator from Illinois as “an obscenity like Hannah Montana—flashy, insubstantial bubblegum meant for mass consumption. Reading this article reminded me of the disgust I felt when Claire McCaskill endorsed Obama because her teenage daughters thought he was nifty”—and that wasn’t even the worst of it. Fortunately, most of the pro-Hillary/anti-Barack commenters were more temperate; some even thanked Andersen for coming clean. “Well at least someone in the media will admit his bias,” said one. Another put it this way: “I’ll give you some credit for bringing the matter to print, but from the perspective of a realistic everyday American, this primary season has been nothing more than another cheesy reality show.” Some directed their anger squarely at the author: “This article sums it up. No substance—no realism—just white liberal guilt about escaping all of the downsides of being in the boomer generation.” And one reader tried a bit of faint praise: “I thought this was a damn good article. It hit the nail on the head, and I congratulate the author for being up-front about his prejudices. It is absolutely true: if you want to be ‘cool,’ vote for Obama!” The adoration for Clinton took all forms, including this declaration: “Oh yeah, and Hillary doesn’t have bad hair. She has great hair.”
2. Emily Nussbaum’s profile of Sex and the City star and ambivalent West Village local Sarah Jessica Parker (“Sarah Jessica Parker Would Like a Few Words With Carrie Bradshaw,” May 12) was the source of much admiration on nymag.com—“Great lady, great article,” “She is the epitome of grace and class.” Amid the praise, there was a brief interruption from the woman who, as described by Nussbaum in the story, had interrupted her interview by thrusting a pair of jeans upon Parker: “That English girl was me, Misty Twigg. I have worked alongside Chloe Lonsdale for the last three years relaunching the original British denim brand from the seventies, MiH Jeans (Made in Heaven). She was the loveliest person I have ever met! It is my birthday, what a lovely present!!”
3. A devoted fan of Freemans, Taavo Somer’s Lower East Side restaurant, wrote an aggrieved note in response to David Amsden’s story about Somer (“Coolhunted,” May 12): “I started going to Freemans a few years ago and quickly became addicted to the space and the whole point of view. I even got my hair cut a few times at the store and picked up some clothes. It was the perfect unhurried spot to meet friends. So imagine my surprise hearing that the key man involved with the whole thing has Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Mary-Kate, and Josh Hartnett hanging out at his new place. I thought Freemans represented a different, less meatpacking, point of view and that the Lipstick Jungle and Hedge-Fund Non-Creatives were merely tolerated when they showed up. But, after reading this article, it turns out that that’s the target audience. How depressing.”
4. In our roundup of polo shirts (“Storefront: Polos, Hold the Logo,” March 24), we referred to the Abercrombie & Fitch logo as a “funny-looking eagle.” It is, in fact, a funny-looking moose. Or, perhaps, an extremely funny-looking eagle.
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