Groping Hillary Clinton

Another casualty of the internet age: Obama's speechwriter is caught in a compromising position with a cardboard Hillary

Talk about your awkward office holiday party! The Washington Post ran a photo last week showing President-elect Barack Obama's chief speechwriter, Jon Favreau, engaged in a scandalous late-night entanglement with secretary of state to-be Hillary Clinton. This would have been a way bigger deal if one of them hadn't been made of paper, but it's still not a terribly flattering light in which to find oneself.

It turns out Favreau had recently graced a party where a life-sized cardboard cut-out of Clinton was also in attendance. He and an unidentified party guest were photographed cupping the breast of and kissing the cardboard Clinton, and a while later another picture of Favreau (ever the gentleman) was snapped as he was gliding across the dance floor with the senator's facsimile. It was probably a very magical night for them both.

Fast-forward a few weeks, and Favreau finds pictures of this intimate evening uploaded on to the popular social networking site Facebook. Naturally, they were yanked within hours, but during their ephemeral glory they were leaked all over the internet, reaffirming the power of the electronic footprint. Now, Favreau is faced with a pretty embarrassing situation for at least the next four years – he'll be in meetings alongside a woman he groped. While of course that's nothing new in Washington (or probably anywhere in America) and it's certainly humiliating enough on its own, I think there are a few additional layers of complication to be found in this little party foul.

Throughout the last legs of his campaign, there remained a small but omnipresent contingent of journalists and voters who maintained that Obama's remarks and interactions consistently had a sexist slant. They cited his use of the word "sweetie" when addressing a female reporter (he later called her to apologise) and claimed his references to Clinton's "claws [coming] out" was riddled with gender-normativity. Obama was even denounced by members of his own party (Geraldine Ferraro, for one, though her own speech had latent racist overtones) for running a sexist campaign. The misogynist label has always hovered dangerously in the background of present-day politics in general and Obama's rise to power in particular (see Amanda Fortini's brilliant New York Magazine piece for an enlightening discussion of gender and the campaign).

At the end of the day, this is not an insignificant event in terms of how Obama chooses to begin his term. Though many bloggers and readers are laughing off this seemingly silly lapse of social grace, others are astutely pointing out that should Favreau have found himself immortalised in a photo with a decidedly racist slant versus this sexist one, the fallout would have been far more dramatic. Some are calling for Favreau's dismissal in order for Obama to prove that he is committed to a fair and respectful presidency, but as it turns out the secretary of state herself is willing to overlook Favreau's misstep. As her senior adviser said in a tongue-in-cheek e-mail response to Favreau's apology: "Senator Clinton is pleased to learn of Jon's obvious interest in the state department, and is currently reviewing his application."

All that heavy mess aside, this isn't the first time the internet has helped usher forth some skeletons from some closets. Bristol Palin's fiance, Soren Dayton and John Edwards have all had to answer tough questions recently after their electronic history revealed shady situations. The information superhighway has become a magical tool that allows us to explore new opportunities, acquire knowledge, and forge connections, but does it make looking like an ass a little too easy?

As Favreau and countless others have learned, simply removing a photo from your profile or webpage does little to ensure that it's removed from the internet, and you continue to be responsible for that content without a statute of limitations. Some might find that helpful in determining a person's character, but others might find it a bit too harsh to punish someone for an e-mail they sent six years ago. It's a mutable medium with the memory of an elephant. This is really handy when you want to forward video clips of the latest Saturday Night Live sketch and less so when you're applying for a job at a fancy law firm and HR has tucked a photo of you from Toga Night into your recruitment file, even if you explain that you won Best Costume (two years in a row). You have the Facebook album to prove it, too.