WHERE THE HE-MEN MEET

WHERE THE HE-MEN MEET. When watching shows like Bill O'Reilly's, or listening to a local radio talk show hosted by Mike Barnicle, I get that uncomfortable, need-to-cross-my-arms-across-my-breasts feeling. Even though I'm at a distance. Well, I have realized the roots of that feeling now. Those places are not intended for me. Here's what O'Reilly said a few days ago on the topic of immigration:

O'REILLY: OK, I think it's a small part, but I think it's there. On the other side, you have people who hate America, and they hate it because it's run primarily by white, Christian men. Let me repeat that. America is run primarily by white, Christian men, and there is a segment of our population who hates that, despises that power structure. So they, under the guise of being compassionate, want to flood the country with foreign nationals, unlimited, unlimited, to change the complexion -- pardon the pun -- of America. Now, that's hatred, too. It's a different kind of hatred, but it's hatred and best exemplified by The New York Times, which today says in its editorial, quote: "Those who want [the immigration] bill to be better are horribly conflicted by it. Their emotions still seem vastly overmatched by the ferocity of the opposition from the restrictionist right, with talk radio lighting up over 'amnesty,' callers spitting out the words with all the hate they can pour into it," unquote.

Pity the poor hated white Christian men. It's very tough to run a country and then get nothing but hatred back. Or so O'Reilly appears to argue. Then yesterday I happened to listen to Mike Barnicle interviewing Chris Matthews of Hardball fame. Matthews suffers from a Hillary-fixation, but the Barnicle interview revealed something more deeply awry in his psyche. After all the matey-introductions about being alumni from the same university and so on, Barnicle asked Matthews what he thought about the candidacy of Fred Thompson. Matthews was very excited, pointing out that Thompson was the sort of guy who in the 1950s would have come home and said: "Would somebody get my slippers." A perfect "tonal alternative," Matthews continued, to the "screeching fingers on the blackmail--er--blackboard, Hillary." Tonal alternative? As in, feminist vs. putting women back to their "proper places"?Matthews went on to bemoan how every hour now is the International Year of the Woman. He also implied that it is the less-educated women who like Hillary. The more educated and neurotic (yes, that's the word he used) people don't care for her as much.The rest of the Matthews interview is fun, too. He goes on for some time about whether Al Gore has had cosmetic surgery or not, making it very clear that he wouldn't be able to tell himself, what with being a he-man, but that his female producers are experts at spotting Botox and such and could tell. He also mentioned that Gore is fat. I thought that only women are supposed to gossip about looks. Hmmm.--J. Goodrich